POTKM Vol12: The Grand Culmination
by AndrewK9000
Summary: It all comes down to this as our heroes struggle to stop Katrina from carrying out her vile scheme. Tess, Aiden and Malcolm head to Ooo to link up with Riku, while Kairi desperately holds the line in The Realms. But evil lurks everywhere as The Lich in his stolen body lays his own plans. Who will survive?
1. Prolog: Setting The Stage

_Greetings fellow readers and writers! At long last, here's the twelfth and final volume of Path of the Keyblade Master! I sincerely apologize for the delay, I've had a rather stressful summer and needed time to deal with a lot of personal problems, then I needed to take August off to deal with a serious bout of writer's block. And don't get me started on all the insanity of the past Autumn. But I'm back now and ready to finish what I started._

 _Okay, when we last left our heroes, Kairi was trying to hold things together on Radiant Garden against Columbina and Darklight's insidious assault on The Realms of light, while Columbin was revealed as Katrina, Sabrina's evil twin, said young witch is now the apprentice of Alegra. Tess, Aiden and Malcolm saved Sofia and Enchancia, while Riku saved Ooo and Sora is now possessed by The Lich. Yep, that pretty sums it up and sets things for the explosive climax that is to come._

 _The first half of the story will mostly focus on Aiden, Tess and Malcolm as they reunite with Riku in his travels in Ooo, afterwards the action will focus back on The Realms of Light._

 _As always, I own nothing in this story save for my original characters, so please don't sue me, I'm only trying to tell a good story, a story which I hope you'll enjoy reading as much as I've enjoyed writing. Again, as always, there'll be those who don't like it, and a few who'll downright hate it. That's your prerogative, it's still a free country. If you don't like it, don't read it and please don't clog my email box with hateful reviews. After all_ _ **THIS IS FANFICTION!**_

 _And now, without further delay, the story begins!_

 **Prolog: Setting The Stage**

… **Castle Oblivion…**

"They're just sitting there, talking," said Dio Brando as he rubbed his neck. He, Young Xehanort, Regina, Gaston and Lady Tremaine were lounging in the main room, while Katrina and Darklight sat at the far end. Katrina had cast a noise-cancelation spell to keep out unwanted eavesdropping, leaving Dio Brando and the other villains in the dark as to what was being said.

"Think they'll kiss and make up?" asked Gaston.

"After the way Katrina betrayed Darklight? Hardly," said Lady Tremaine, "no, the whelp shall walk out again."

"Wanna bet?" asked Dio Brando.

At that Regina stood up, sighing with disgust, "oh, this is ridiculous! Why have we sat here for so long and done nothing?"

"We're waiting to see what they'll do," said Gaston.

"Not that, you muscle-bound buffoon!" snapped Regina, "I mean done nothing ourselves? Why have we allowed Columbina…I mean Katrina, why have we allowed her to dictate our efforts to crush those fools in the realms? Why have we just stat here and watched that idiot box?" she pointed at The Interocitor.

"We've done more than just sit here," said Young Xehanort, "We've assisted Katrina in her efforts to drown The Realms of Light in darkness."

"Again, her wishes, not ours," said Regina, "am I the only one who's suspicious of just what Katrina really wants?"

"Quiet, she'll here you!" hissed Lady Tremaine as she fearfully looked at Katrina and Darklight.

"They can't hear us," said Regina, "that sound-suppression spell works both ways. Besides," she glared contemptuously at Katrina, "I'm not afraid of a spoiled little witch with an overblown sibling rivalry complex."

"You've seen what she can do, the power she wields," said Lady Tremaine.

"And what are we, chopped liver?" asked Regina, "I can take that upstart witch with one hand tied behind my back."

"You'll lose the other hand," said The Lord of Illusions as he appeared next to Regina, startling the evil queen, "Darklight will cut it off."

"Where have you been?" asked Regina as she regained her composure, "or have we yet to meet? Just how many doppelgangers are there of you?"

"You'd be surprised," said The Lord of Illusions, "and believe me, you don't want Katrina as an enemy. You saw how she made Kairi suffer."

"And she pulled through with flying colors," said Young Xehanort as he walked over to The Interocitor and turned the Intensifier Disk 18° to the left, "and is now gathering her strength to resist us."

"Resist her," said Regina as she glared at Katrina, "we're just pawns in her game. Well, I'm getting a little tired of playing by her rules."

"What are you saying?" asked Young Xehanort, "are you implying that you wish to leave?"

The other villains leaned forward to hear Regina's answer, yet none came as the silence spell ended and Katrina and Darklight stood up.

"And that's that," said Katrina as she walked over to the other villains, while Darklight performed a set of stretches.

"What's it?" asked Gaston.

"You two kiss and make up?" asked Dio Brando.

"Eew, we didn't do that," said a slightly disgusted Katrina, "oh, you mean we set our differences aside. Yeah, we did that."

"Pay up!" Dio Brando shouted triumphantly as he held out his hand towards Lady Tremaine.

"What?" asked the wicked stepmother.

"I won the bet, pay up!" said Dio Brando.

"I remember making no such wager," said Lady Tremaine.

"Oh, no, you're not welching out on me," said DIo Brando, "you owe me big time."

"I think we have other things to worry about," said Young Xehanort as he watched Kairi on the Interocitor. The young monarch of Radiant Garden was standing in front of a newly built factory. The production line had just come on line, producing Armored Trooper units.

"So, the little bitch thinks she can beat me with heavy metal," said Katrina, "we'll just see about that." She then looked at Darklight, "I think it's time you got back to work, young lady."

"I will," said Darklight nonchalantly as she performed more stretches, "as soon as I've limbered up. You shouldn't sit still for too long, it's not good for the body."

"Oh, we weren't sitting for that long," said Katrina.

"You were there for two freaking days," said Dio Brando.

"Really?" asked Katrina, "how'd that happen?" She looked at her watch, "oh, it stopped."

"You really should get a cell phone," said The Lord of Illusions.

"Oh, dear Leslie," said Katrina as she smiled with wicked glee, "how goes your efforts?"

"I've nearly everything we need to assemble The Sampo," said The Lord of Illusions, "just one or two key items left on my checklist."

"Just what is needed to make a Sampo?" asked Gaston.

"For this kind of Sampo, a lot of dark magic items," said The Lord of Illusions, "'cause we're not making any gold, grain or salt."

"And just what are you making?" asked Young Xehanort.

"Something worth a lot of Munny to a lot of renegade Moogles," said the vile doppelganger, "most of what I needed had to be crafted and you try getting those self-righteous little koopas to make something evil."

"Then you're really going to do it?" asked Regina, "Make this…this dark Sampo of yours?"

"Come hell or high water I will," said Katrina, she then glared at Darklight, whom was now doing a yoga routine, "are you done yet?"

"Ask me again and I'll start doing more advanced stuff," said Darklight, "I'll be done when I'm done!"

"Ugh!" sighed Katrina, "I'll be back." With that she zapped herself out of the room.

"Okay, now that she's gone," said The Lord of Illusions to Regina and the other villains, "there's stuff you need to know. Darklight isn't at all happy."

"Obviously," said Lady Tremaine.

"I mean she didn't really want to come back and stay," said the vile trickster, "she wanted to keep looking for Sora and the other Keyblade Wielders herself. The only reason she came back was to keep Katrina from replacing her."

"With what? Those Dark Spears she made out of condensed Heartless?" asked Young Xehanort.

"Or make another Princess of Dark," said The Lord of Illusions, "She almost had it with that Sofia girl, but missed her chance to grab her. Needless to say, Darklight knows how to hold a grudge. The first chance she gets, she'll take out Katrina and take The Sampo's for herself."

"Just what is it Katrina hopes to make with The Sampo?" asked Regina.

"Something that'll make her truly unstoppable," said The Lord of Illusions, "you thought she's powerful now? You ain't seen nothing yet."

Just then Dr. Insano and Zotarius stomped into the room, arguing at the top of their longs.

"Now what?" asked Regina.

"I'll tell you what," said Insano, "this prattling pussbag of parlor tricks is interfering with progress, That's what!"

"I told you time and again, you goggled geek!" snapped Zotarius, "they won't do it!"

"Who don't do it?" asked Young Xehanort.

"Those three children with Titan Power," said Insano, "they refuse to help me destroy our shared enemies!"

"They won't fight for us?" asked Regina.

"Oh, they're perfectly willing to fight," said Zotarius, "as Titans. They're more than willing to stop, smash, crush and even eat those who dare to resist us."

"Then why the frak won't they let me examine them?" asked Dr. Insano, "all I asked for were some DNA samples; a spit swab, a few vials of blood, maybe a spinal tap or two and drill for some bone marrow, but that's all, nothing more."

"They refuse to give any parts of themselves," said Zotarius, "especially Annie. No, she suffered far enough at the hands of the Raztonians and Lord Xenu's scientists."

"Which you cooperated in," said Regina.

"Yes, but they don't know that," said Zotarius as he grinned maliciously, "I have them convinced that I was against Annie's abduction and subsequent torture, all in the name of producing obedient Titans. I had them in the palm of my hand," he then glared hatefully at Insano, "then Poindexter here almost ruined it all!"

"I just offered to help make an army of Titans!" said Insano, "and I won't resort to torture, not at first. Look, my methods of extracting Titan DNA is far, far, far superior than anything those amateurs from Parzon and their insectoid allies could ever imagine, and far less invasive."

"They won't do it," said Zotarius, "Reiner and Bertold are, understandably, very protective of Annie and won't let anyone hurt her, even if it means violence."

"You mean they'd dare turn on us?" asked Sephiroth as he walked in.

"Where have you been?" asked Gaston.

"Talking a walk," said Sephiroth.

"Whatever fluffs your wing," said Zotarius, "and yes, those three would turn on us, and I'd doubt this castle could stand up to three Titans, especially that really big, big one."

"No, I doubt the castle could endure," said Young Xehanort, "but, surely we can come to an understanding with the three. We want use of their powers, they seek the extermination of mankind on their world, so surely we can reach some form of compromise." He then looked at his fellow villains, "can we?"

"We can try," sighed Regina.

"So long as it doesn't involve needles or any form of poking and prodding," said Zotarius.

"Why do you care so much?" asked Lady Tremaine, "you act like the whelps are your friends when they're no more than means to an end."

"They are," said Zotarius, "and as soon as I'm done with them, I'll toss them aside like yesterday's garbage."

"Well, that's one less crisis on our hands," said The Lord of Illusions, "but if only we can find the one person we need for The Sampo."

"Oh, now we need someone for it?" asked an irate Regina, "what next, a kitchen sink?"

"If that's what he or she needs," said The Lord of Illusions, "what, did you think The Sampo would just assemble itself? Silly Regina, Trix are for Kids!" with that he patted Regina placatingly on the head, earning a deadly glare from her.

"A craftsperson," said Young Xehanort, "you need someone to build the bloody thing."

"You're absolutely correct," said The Lord of Illusions, "we need a builder skilled enough to put The Sampo together. But it can't be just any craftsperson. He or she has to be a very special artisan."

"You have such a builder in mind?" asked Young Xehanort.

"A few," said The Lord of Illusions as he pulled out a piece of paper, "Katrina made a list, but she's crossed out all but a handful of names. But there is one she's circled," he then showed the list to the other villains.

"Now here's your builder," said Young Xehanort after he and the others saw the circled name, "get this one and The Sampo's good as made."

"But how are we to convince the builder to build the damn thing?" asked Dio Brando.

"That, my friends," said Katrina after she zapped back in, "is the question."

* * *

… **Radiant Garden…**

"At this rate we should have the first dozen finish by the end of the day," said Professor von Drake as he, Kairi, Ansem, stood in the newly built factory that was assembling the AT suits, "And then we'll have more once the next factory comes on line," he then chuckled, "oh, I can't wait for the bad guys to find out that they'll be running into a wall of waking tanks!"

"Assuming we find enough pilots for the AT units," said Ansem.

"And enough Jijirium for the darn things," said Cid as he looked at the assembly line, "that stuff's pretty hard to get."

"Oh, it's not that hard to get," said Professor von Drake, "wait, what am I saying? Of course it's hard to get. That stuff's more valuable than gold!"

"We have enough for the unit's onboard computers," said Ansem, "for now."

"Then we'll just buy more," said Professor von Drake, "yes, it's more valuable than gold, but I'm sure…"

"You're sure your head's screwed on the wrong way," said Scrooge McDuck as he walked up, "do you have any idea how rare Jijirium is? Bust me bagpipes, man, just one metric ton is enough to bankrupt a small kingdom!"

"We'll get it," said Cid, "I don't know how, but we'll get it."

"There's still the bigger issue," said Quistis as she walked up, "getting enough people to fight."

"Any word from SeeD HQ?" asked Cid.

"Oh, plenty of words," said Quistis, "none of it worth a damn. They still want to pull operations from The Realms, the cowards!"

"Then, you and the other SeeD operatives," said Kairi, "you're leaving?"

"Heck no," said Quistis, "not me anyway, and I'm sure nearly everyone already committed to the fight won't leave. Don't get me wrong, if we're officially ordered to leave, we'd be committing mutiny by staying."

"Then you should go," said Kairi, "I don't want you and the others to get in trouble."

"If we left, we'd be betraying you and everything you stand for, my queen," said Quistis, "I'd rather be accused of mutiny than condemned as a traitor. Either way, no more help is coming from SeeD."

"We don't need them," said Leon as he walked up, "those idiots at HQ are part of the reason I left."

"I thought you left because Rinoa left you," said Quistis, "speaking of which," she pulled out a letter from her pocket, "guess who mailed you this?"

"I don't want it!" said Leon as he turned away.

"Why?" asked Kairi, "If it's from your old girlfriend, then…what happened between you two anyway?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" said Leon as he irately hurried out of the area.

"Don't bother, he won't talk," said Quistis, "mostly because he stupidly said something to Rinoa he shouldn't have said and wouldn't apologize."

"Well, that was stupid of him," said Lara as she teleported into the area, "if a boy says something wrong to a girl, he should say he's sorry!"

"Like a squirt like you would know anything about boys," said Leon from just inside earshot.

"I heard that, you jerk!" snapped Lara. She then looked at Kairi, "But that's not why I'm here. I've got good news from my grandmother."

"About time we got some good news around here," said Cid.

"Depending on what the news is," said Ansem, "I'd say it'd be most welcome."

"Oh, you'll all like this news," said Lara, "My grandmother, Merlin and Yen Sid are very, very, very close to figuring out how to extend the protective properties of The Cornerstone of Light throughout The Realms of Light."

"How close!?" asked Kairi urgently, kneeling down to look Lara in the eye.

"Very close," insisted Lara, "we just need a few more things and we're good to go."

"What kind of things?' asked Leon as he hurried back.

"And how much will it cost?" asked Scrooge McDuck.

"The kind of things that only magic users can get together in time," said Lara, "just leave it to us. We'll take care of it."

"But what is it you need?" asked Kairi, "if we can help…"

"Sorry, but no," said Lara, "my grandmother explosively told me to tell you not to help. This is something we magic users have to do ourselves."

"But I'm a magic user, sort of," said Kairi, "I mean…the diadem…"

"I don't think your crown should be used for trivial purposes," said Lara.

"You call saving the universe trivial?" asked Kairi, "if…"

"I'm sorry, I've got to go," said Lara, "so much to do and so little time. Just one more thing first, something my grandmother told me to tell you! Trust yourself!" with that she teleported out.

"What was that all about?" asked Leon.

"Wizards, what else do you expect them to be?" asked Quistis, "and are you sure you don't want this?" she asked as she held out the letter.

"I don't want anything from her!" shouted Leon as he turned and walked away, passing Selphie as she walked up to Qusitis.

"Now what's bugging him?" Selphie asked.

"He didn't want to read a letter from Zell," said Quistis.

"Zell Dincth!?" exclaimed Selphie as she grabbed the letter from Quistis.

"Who's…?" asked Kairi.

"Zell?" asked Quistis, "he's Squall's old partner back in the day. He's…a bit…overeager…to say the least. Like Rinoa and pretty much everyone else from the old days, Squall left Zell on bad terms. It's all really stupid when you think about it."

But then Selphie gave a squeal of delight, "They're coming!" she shouted joyfully. "Zell and Rinoa are coming to help! I've gotta go tell Irvin and Squall!" with that she dashed out of the area.

"Well, gang's almost all here," said Quistis.

"So long as Leon doesn't let the past get in the way of what is to come," said Ansem.

"He'll be fine," said Kairi as she looked up at the stars, "but I wish I could say the same for us. Sora, Riku, where are you?"

* * *

… **Destiny Islands…**

The Lich walked on the beach in his stolen body, taking in the sights and sounds of Sora's childhood. There was the pier, the waterfall, the small hut, the obstacle course on the other side of the island where Sora and Riku had so many races. And there was the Paopu Tree on the small island, sight of so many practice duels. And there stood the tree itself, its fruit bitter to taste yet carried such sweet memories.

That's what The Litch had come for, to experience Sora's memories firsthand. The foul necromancer had access to all of Sora's memories, from his earliest childhood all the way up to Sora's drift through the primal darkness. Yet The Litch wanted to see the islands for itself, to make its own assessment of the life of the young Keyblade Wielder.

It walked the pier to the small island and looked up at the Paopu Tree. Reaching up with his stolen hand, The Litch picked a ripe fruit. It looked at it, remembering the promise Sora, Riku and Kairi made to share it one day. Then it remembered the time Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aiden and Tess tasted the fruit, realizing the fruit's true flavor and laughing it off. Such joy and love was felt that day.

"Pathetic," said The Lich coldly as it crushed the fruit, its necromantic power corrupting the fruit into rotten slime. It then touched the tree, infecting it with undead magic. Within seconds, the tree was dying. "Utterly, childishly pathetic."

The Lich walked back to the main island and touched the sand with both hands, chanting an unholy curse. There was a flash of green necromantic magic, yet when The Lich stood up, all seemed well.

"When the time comes, this world will fall to death," said The Lich, "all worlds Sora knew will fall." It then summoned a portal and stepped through, leaving behind an abominable time bomb of pure evil, waiting for the order to explode and turn Sora's world into a land of chaos and corruption.


	2. Chapter 1: Out & Into The Frying Pan

**Kingdom Hearts: Path of the Keyblade Master**

 **Volume 12: The Grand Culmination**

 _ **By AndrewK9000**_

 **Chapter 1: Out & Into The Frying Pan**

… _ **Enchancia…**_

Sabrina Spellman, teenage witch and apprentice to Alegra Wells, made her way through the royal palace in search of her friends. She had made many new friends in the, relatively, short time since she began her journey across space and time to stop her evil twin from a parallel reality. Most of those friends were from parallel realities themselves and were currently back in their native dimensions, preparing for the final showdown with Katrina.

But these friends were still here in Enchancia. Some of them native to Enchancia, but the three she specifically sought were most definitely not. It was all rather confusing when you think about it; friends from other realms, demons and monsters of all shapes and sizes, creatures of living darkness and an evil twin who's not really your twin but your twin from another place and time, it's enough to drive the average teenage girl mad.

Fortunately for Sabrina, she was no average teenager. Ever since discovering her magic on her 16th birthday, the weird and bizarre had become a daily norm, though even Sabrina would admit that her summer vacation so far has been beyond anything she could imagine, even for a teenage witch.

Just then Sabrina saw something gray dash in front of her, followed by something back, said back thing, her cat and former warlock Salem, caused Sabrina to trip on a lose piece of rug and fall flat on her face.

"Salem!" exclaimed Sabrina, "what gives!?"

"Oh, sorry," said Salem, "that jerk of a bunny stole my tuna!"

"Clover? Sofia's rabbit?" asked Sabrina as she sat up, "what's he doing with tuna? And can you even get tuna on this world?"

"Hey, this is the royal palace of a magical kingdom," said Salem, "you can get anything! Now, where'd that bunny go? I'll get him back if it's the last thing I do!"

"Never mind that, we've got to find Aiden, Tess and Malcolm," said Sabrina as she picked up an irate Salem.

"But my tuna?" asked Salem.

In response, Sabrina zapped in another bowl of fish for Salem, "there, happy? Wait, what am I doing? You're needed too!" she zapped the tuna away, "and why am I walking through this maze of a castle? I'm a witch with her full powers for crying out loud!" with that she zapped herself and Salem out of the corridor.

The two materialized on one of the many balconies of the palace, where they saw the three Keyblade Wielders, Aiden, Tess and Malcolm, all wearing sunglasses and swimwear, attempting to relax and build up a tan. Their relaxation wouldn't last much longer.

"Hey, you guys!" said Sabrina, "Alegra says it's time to go."

The three Keyblade Wielders were unresponsive as they lay on the lawn chairs, enjoying the gentle solar rays, gentle for Enchancia, shining down on them.

"Hey! I said it's time to go!" urged Sabrina, "come on! Alegra's waiting!"

"Alegra's semi-immortal," said Malcolm, "she can wait another fifteen minutes."

"So you can tell her," said Tess as she lifted her head up and lifted her sunglasses to look Sabrina in the eye, "that I said 'go stick your head in a pig!'" with that she lowered her head and sunglasses.

"Eeew! Can you at least cook the pig first?" asked Salem.

"No, it has to be alive," said Tess as she rolled over to tan her back.

"Yuck!" said Salem, "I'd rather stick my head in a live cow!"

"How is that any better?" asked Sabrina.

"Trust me, it is," said Salem.

At that Aiden gave a grunt of annoyance and sat up, "do you two mind? We're trying to soak up some Ultraviolet Rays here! So can we please have another fifteen minutes?!"

"We'll have to sit and soak for a lot longer than that," said Malcolm, "remember that weather-check spell I did earlier? The UV Index is barely above 1."

"You said 1.15," said Tess.

"So you see, Sabrina," said Malcolm, "we've a lot of sunbathing to do before we're ready to go."

"You've got to be kidding me!" exclaimed Sabrina, "you guys are supposed to be heroes!"

"Heroes who've been through hell the past few weeks!" said an irate Tess as she sat up, taking her sunglasses off to glare at Sabrina, "The last time we had an actual break was that weekend at Yubaba's bathhouse. We came back to Radiant Garden to find it trashed by an alien invasion and the powers of The Princesses of Heart stolen. So we set out to find them," she began counting on her fingers, "first we went to Equestria and had to fight Raztonians, Changelings and a psychotic psychic, then we fought a zombie apocalypse, then went to an underwater dystopia, then got out asses kicked by Darklight and were scattered across the multi-verse, and just now we fought a war."

"So is it unreasonable that we'd want a break before our next wild and crazy adventure?" asked Aiden, "can't we have one hour to unwind and enjoy ourselves?"

"And we have fifteen minutes left in that hour," said Malcolm, "and since you so rudely interrupted our time, I think we're entitled to five minutes more."

"So be so kind as to go back to Alegra and say we'll be down in twenty minutes," said Tess, "longer since we have to get cleaned up and dressed."

At that Sabrian was both mad, sad and mischievous; mad because her friends were wasting time when so much was at stake, sad because she did understand that her friends needed to catch their breath before charging back into the good fight, and mischievous because she through about pulling a magical prank on them.

Instead, Sabrina, for once, chose a more sensible solution, "okay, you can stay here as long as you want."

"Thank you so very much," said Tess as she lay back down.

"I'll just tell Alegra that you don't want to find Riku and save him from a world about to explode," said Sabrina, "come on, Salem, let's go."

"Do I have a choice?" asked Salem, just as Tess sat bolt upright.

"RIKU!?" exclaimed Tess, "on an exploding planet?!" she then leapt to her feet and flipped over Aiden and Malcolm's lawn chairs, "tell Alegra we'll be down right away!" she tossed away her sunglasses and glared at her fellow Keyblade Wielders, "won't we?!"

"Oh, yes we will," said both Aiden and Malcolm in nervous agreement.

"Cool, see you guys downstairs," said Sabrina. With that she zapped herself out.

"Don't just sit there like idiots!" exclaimed Tess as she hurried inside to get cleaned up and dressed, "Riku's in trouble!" she then hurried back onto the balcony and grabbed Aiden and Malcolm.

In record time, the three Keyblade Wielders were presentable and downstairs in the foyer, where Sofia stood waiting.

"Oh, there you are," said Sofia, "Oh, have you seen Clover? He's been teasing Salem all day. I keep telling him to stop but you know how bunnies can be, right?"

"Uh, yeah, right," said Tess impatiently, "where's Alegra?"

"Outside opening portals," said Sofia, "nearly everyone's back on their worlds getting ready. Come on, you're just in time to say goodbye to Eren and his friends."

They walked out the front door and the steps, to where Alegra had a portal open on the driveway. Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlet and the rest of their fellow Survey Corps members, were shaking hands and saying goodbye to Roland, James and Amber, just as James and Krista were shaking hands. But then, as if on impulse, James and Krista embraced and passionately kissed, causing everyone's jaw in the area to fall open.

"You won't forget, will you?" asked Krista after she and James ended their kiss.

"I'll remember," said James, "always." With that Krista smiled and walked into the portal, with a still flabbergast Eren and the others following through.

"Well…" said a stunned Amber, "that was…"

"What?" asked James, "what?"

"Uh…James," said Sofia, "you…"

"You do realize that, as a prince," said the ever-present Bailywick, "and potential heir to the throne, that you simply can't go around kissing any girl you please."

"She's not just any girl," said James defensively, "she's special, more special than you'll ever know, Bailywick."

"On the contrary, I've kissed a special girl or two in my youth," said Bailywick, "the same could be said for your father. He was quite the ladies' man before he met your mother, and those two, the times I caught them alone…"

"Oh, jeez, Bailywick!" exclaimed Amber, "we do not want to know about Mother and Father!"

"Or who he dated before he met mom!" said James.

"And I don't want to talk about it either," said Roland, "but Bailywick does have a point, James. That last thing you need is to get in trouble with a girl you barely know. And I'm sure young Krista…"

"That's not her name," said James as he looked around, making sure the portal back to Eren's world was close, "her name's not Krista Lenz, it's Historia Ross."

"Uh…well, then," said an understandably confused Roland, while Sofia and the others looked equally confounded, "I'm sure…Historia, I'm sure she's a nice girl, but…"

"You really need to be careful, James," said Miranda as she walked up, "I'm sure you believe you and Historia can have your own happily ever after like your father and I had, but…"

"She's a soldier from another world and you're a prince from this one," said Bailywick, "I'm sorry, your highness, but…"

"She's not just a soldier!" said James, "Historia, she's the rightful heir to her people's kingdom! Long story short, her family's been the real power behind the throne, letting a puppet king, the nobles and church rule for generations, all the while repressing her people's true potential and allowing The Titans to slowly wipe them out!"

He then looked up in the sky with hopeful eyes, "but that's all gonna change. Soon, once we stop Katrina and things calm down, I'll go to Historia and we'll put things right for her people! We'll stop The Titans and reclaim her world for her people, and I'm gonna marry her."

"That's an ambitious goal, James," said Roland, "but if you do that, then…"

"Then you'll leave me as heir to the throne of Enchancia!" said an irate Amber, "I'm not ready to be queen, you dummy!"

"Hey, don't count your father and I out just yet!" said Miranda, "we're nowhere near ready to step down, and you, your brother _and_ sister have a lot more to learn before any of you can step up."

"Can Sofia sit on the throne?" asked Malcolm, "I mean…"

"Because she's not noble born?" asked Alegra, startling everyone, "now that is a complicated issue on its own."

"How's your brain today?" asked Salem, "lose any more marbles?"

"I'm actually having a good day up here," said Alegra as she tapped her head, "though I expect not to have many more of them in the days to come. There's still much to do before I completely go bonkers."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Tess, "let's go find Riku!"

"Oh, we know exactly where Riku is," said Sabrina, "he's on a world called Ooo."

"Ooo?" asked Aiden.

"Yes, Ooo," said Sabrina.

"I'm sure it's an interesting place," said Roland, "but I have a question."

"Oh, interesting is putting it mildly," said Alegra, "and I'm sure you have many, many questions, Roland."

"We certainly do," said Miranda, "but I've got one about Krista, I mean Historia. How long has she been keeping this secret of hers?"

"Who else knows?" asked Roland.

"Did Eren and the others know?" asked Tess.

"Only one person outside those keeping Historia a prisoner of her identity knows," said Alegra, "Ymir."

"Ymir? Who's that?" asked Aiden, while Malcolm shook his head.

"Oh, the quiet one we barely noticed," said James, "that's Ymir. Historia told me she knows. Ymir's sort of her best friend/bodyguard, sort of."

"Now I remember," said Tess, "she was never far from Krista, and always glaring at any boy who got near her, even James."

"She also has Titan Power," said Alegra.

"Oh," said James. He then did a double take and, along with everyone else, shouted, "SAY WHAT?!"

"Ymir can transform into a Titan," said Alegra, "though she's been careful to keep that power a secret."

"Not careful enough to keep it from you," said a flabbergast Sabrina, "but why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I know that Ymir promised to keep her power a secret until Historia told hers," said Alegra, "Ymir swore to do whatever it takes to keep Historia safe, even if it means joining with those who wish to exterminate humanity on her world."

"You mean, she'd side with Annie, Reiner and Bertold and murder hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children?" asked Miranda, "and you brought her to our world? Are you insane?!"

"That's what I've always thought," said Tess as she glared at Alegra.

"There are timelines where Ymir sided with the forces of evil in order to keep Historia safe," said Alegra, "but not this one. No, I believe Historia's love for James has inspired Ymir to remain in the light. Then again, she may choose the path of evil, or remain neutral, but that is for tomorrow.

"For today, dear friends, you are bound for a place unlike any other you've seen yet."

"The Land of Ooo," said Aiden, "what's that place's story?"

"I'll tell you all about on the way," said Alegra, "like this!" she then tapped Tess on the forehead. She gasped in surprise and vanished.

"Hey now wait a minute!" shouted Aiden, just as Alegra tapped his forehead and he vanished.

"You keep that finger away from me!" shouted Malcolm, but it was too late; Alegra tapped his forehead and he vanished.

"What'd you do?!" exclaimed Sofia.

"Sent them to Ooo and implanted with enough knowledge of that world for them to get along," said Alegra, "a rather handy time saver if you ask me."

"And you've never used that before on them?" asked Sabrina.

"Not when time is such a pressing matter, like now," said Alegra, "and now you and I must go," she looked at Salem, "and you're more than welcome to come, but I'll understand if you wish otherwise."

"She's right, Salem," said Sabrina, "we can send you back to Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda."

"And miss out on finishing this wild and crazy adventure? I don't think so!" said Salem, "besides, I've a score to settle with Zotarius!"

"I thought you were scared to death of him," said James.

"That was before I remembered how much of a jerk he was," said Salem, "trust me, all that stuff about his defiling worlds and shattering hearts, it's all talk."

"He's still dangerous," said Alegra, "though not as dangerous as Katrina."

"You're right about that too," said Sabrina, "Salem, this is my evil twin we're talking about. I mean, not exactly my evil twin, this Katrina's even worse than my Katrina, and she's the one who tried to push me into a volcano."

"I still find it hard to believe that your own sister is that evil," said Miranda.

"Yeah, I'd never push you into a volcano," said James to Amber.

"Me neither," said Amber, then muttered to herself, "not unless you push me first."

"Just be careful," said Sofia. She then hugged Sabrina, who hugged back.

"I will," said Sabrina, "and I'll come back to say hi someday, promise." With that she, Alegra and Salem finished their goodbyes and vanished into time.

"Well," said James, "we'd better get ready." He then pointed at a crystal Alegra gave Sofia, "'cause when that thing flashes, we're gonna be needed."

"Do we really have to go?" asked Amber, "we just finished one war, and now we've been drawn into another war."

"The war with Parzon was nothing compared to what's to come," said Sofia, "no, Amber, I'm afraid the real war is just getting started."

"That's what I'm afraid of," said Amber.

* * *

… _ **The Time Vortex…**_

"Now that it's just us," said Sabrina as she, Alegra and Salem floated in their protective bubble through the endless chaotic cyclone of time and space, "how's about visiting a doctor to look at your brain?"

"Now why would I need a checkup?" asked Alegra, "I told you and the others I'm having a good day."

"And how many of those do you have left before your brain completely goes out to lunch?" asked Salem, "speaking of lunch, I never did get my tuna back from that bunny."

"I zapped in some tuna for you," said Sabrina.

"Yeah, but it was _my_ tuna the bunny took," said Salem indignantly.

"We'll stop for lunch at some point," said Alegra, "now, let's see," she then activated her device that allowed her to view heroes from other dimensions, "which ones to visit first?"

"Wow, Sora and the others made a lot of friends," said Sabrina.

"And all of them owe The Keyblade Wielders a favor," said Alegra, "it's just a question of how many favors I can cash in for them?"

"Before it's too late?" asked Sabrina, "before you lose your mind? How much longer can you keep going?"

"As long as I can," said Alegra.

"By then it'll be too late," said Sabrina, "your mind will be gone, you'll be gone and I don't want that. I don't want to lose you."

"Of course you don't," said Salem, "you ain't ready to carry on without your teacher."

"It's not like finishing up with my Quizmaster," said Sabrina, "Alegra, she," she looked at Alegra, "you're my friend and I don't want you to go away in your head."

"I don't want to go away either," said Alegra, "and you're my friend too, Sabrina Spellman, but sometimes we have to do things we don't want to in order to keep others safe, even if it means some sacrifices," she then smiled confidently, "but that's for later. I promise I'll see the doctor when this is all over. And then I'll stop. For better or worse, I'm retiring," she looked at Sabrina with serious eyes, "and it'll be up to you to carry on fighting the good fight on my behalf."

"I'll do my best," said Sabrina, though deep in her heart she doubted she or anyone could ever fill the shoes of Alegra Wells.

* * *

… _ **Outskirts of Wizard City…The Land of Ooo…**_

"I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna kill her!" shouted Tess as she, Aiden and Malcolm picked themselves up from their abrupt transport through time and space, "I'm gonna kill Alegra!"

"She'll just come back to life," said Aiden, "like she always does. So what'll killing her accomplish?"

"It'll make me feel better," grumbled Tess. She then sighed, "but yeah, she'll just come gasping back to life and shrug it off like she does every time she dies and comes back. I'm just so sick of her messing with our lives."

"Then you can relax," said Aiden, "this will be the last time she meddles with us, or with anyone for that matter."

"Or it could be another trick of hers," said Tess, "if there's one thing I've learned about Alegra Wells, she's full of surprises."

"Just be glad we're not going into this blind," said Malcolm as he looked around in awe at his surroundings, "but still, this world is…awe inspiring."

"What are you talking about?" asked Tess.

"Just concentrate on the info Alegra gave us," said Aiden.

"You mean forced on us," said Tess, "but yeah, I know about Ooo. The world was once like Earth a thousand years ago, until a nuclear holocaust destroyed civilization and brought magic back. Humans began to die out, while new species and civilizations took root."

"And now Ooo's a world where anything's possible," said Malcolm, "can't you sense it? Magic, it's everywhere here!"

"Sense?" asked Aiden, "sense magic? I'm an alchemist."

"And I'm a Meta-Human," said Tess, "at least I think I am."

"Well, I can feel the magic," said Malcolm, "especially there," he pointed towards Wizard City, "so many magic users and magical items, the very air's saturated with it."

But then the air was saturated with terrified screams.

"You just had to jinx it," said an annoyed Aiden as he, Tess and Malcolm hurried into Wizard City towards the screams.

"Jinx what?" asked Malcolm.

"For once, just for once," said Aiden, "I had the mere miniscule of hope that we would be able to complete at least part of the mission without trouble. And here you go and jinx it."

"All I said was that there was a lot of magic," said Malcolm as he and the others passed throngs of terrified magic users fleeing something ahead, "though I have to agree. Just once I'd like a nice, quiet mission, even if it's only part of the mission."

Just then came a massive blast ahead, followed by the near deafening sound of a collapsing building.

"Now you're jinxing it!" said Tess.

From the collapsed building emerged scores of Garbage Heartless, swarming out and attacking nearby buildings.

"Ugh! Nasty!" exclaimed Malcolm.

"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Tess, "Seriously!? Heartless made out of trash?"

"Why not?" asked Aiden as he, Malcolm and Tess summoned their Keyblades, drawing the attention of more than a few of the refuse abominations. The three Keyblade Wielders went at the creatures with their usual skill and conviction, yet it wasn't long before they realized that something was horribly wrong.

"They're not dying!" exclaimed Malcolm as he cut a Garbage Heartless in half, only to watch as the two pieces became two complete Heartless.

"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Tess again, "Seriously?! Heartless that can regenerate?!"

"Why not?" asked Aiden as he, Tess and Malcolm stood back to back to back against the throngs of Garbage Heartless.

"They've got to have a weakness!" exclaimed Malcolm as he and the others swung their Keyblades to keep the rotting monstrosities back.

"I'm open to suggestions!" shouted Tess.

But then there was a pink blast of magic that pierced the torso of one of the Garbage Heartless where its heart should be, destroying it. Aiden, Tess and Malcolm then heard a loud whistle and looked up. There atop one of the buildings stood Princess Bubblegum and Peppermint Butler, both armed with their magic shotguns set for long range.

"You gotta hit them where their heart should be!" shouted Princess Bubblegum. She then aimed and blasted another Garbage Heartless in the upper left torso, destroying it.

"Thanks!" shouted Malcolm. He then stabbed a Garbage Heartless in the weak spot, destroying it!"

"They're not so tough now that we know how to stop them," said Aiden as he, Tess and Malcolm hacked, slashed and stabbed the decomposing abominations in the weak spot. Aiden was about to stab a particularly odorous specimen, when it was blasted by a beam of rainbow colored magic.

"'Oh! Sorry!'" shouted Lady Rainicorn in Korean as she hovered above, sending down magic blasts from her horn, "'I didn't know that one was yours!'" she sent down more blasts, destroying more and more Garbage Heartless, until the area was free of the festering abominations.

"What'd she say?" asked a confused Malcolm.

"I don't know," said Aiden, "but that weird unicorn's obviously on our side."

"Lady is no mere unicorn," said Princess Bubblegum as Lady Rainicorn flew over and helped her and Peppermint Butler down to the ground, "Rainicorns are an ancient and noble race from another dimension."

"Uh…obviously," said Tess. "Thanks for the assist, by the way, we were in a tight spot just now."

"You should be grateful," said Peppermint Butler, "you've been saved by her royal highness, Princess Bubblegum, supreme overlord and mistress of The Candy Kingdom!"

"It's okay, Pepbut," said Princess Bubblegum, "they're cool."

"How can you be so sure, m'lady?" asked Peppermint Butler.

"They've got the same vibe I felt about Riku," said Princess Bubblegum. She then held out her hand to Aiden, Tess and Malcolm, "you can call me Bonnie."

Instead of shaking her hand, Tess grabbed Princess Bubblegum by her shirt sleeves, "You know Riku?! Where is he?! Tell me! NOW!"

"Whoa, Tess! Chill out!" shouted Malcolm, just as Peppermint Butler switched his magic shotgun to close range mode and aimed it at Tess's head.

"Step away from the princess, foul fiend!" shouted Peppermint as his finger curled around the trigger.

"It's okay, Peppermint Butler!" said Bonnie, "it's Tess, Riku's Tess," she looked at Tess, "you are Tess, right?"

"Uh…yeah, I am," said Tess as she calmed down and released Bonnie, "so, how do you know Riku?"

"Oh, he's been helping out a lot against The Heartless and Red Lectroids," said Bonnie.

Before either Tess, Malcolm or Aiden could ask about the Red Lectroids, there came the sound of shifting rubble. There in the remains of the collapsed building were several Garbage Heartless, merging and corrupting the rubble into festering, rusting and overall rotten refuse. Before long, the decaying rubble was moving, rising up into one large and angry Garbage Heartless that leered down and roared at our heroes and allies.

"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Tess, "Seriously?! Heartless that recycle?!" she then glared at Aiden, "and if you say 'why not?' I'll smack you silly!"

"I won't!" said Aiden as he and the others readied for battle.

But then a large battle axe/bass guitar swooshed through the air and hit the gargantuan heap of garbage in one of its eyes, earning a bellow of pain from the oversized creature.

"Hey, Bonnabel!" shouted Marceline as she flew towards and pulled out her family axe, earning another bellow of pain from the creature, "I fixed my bass!"

"That's great, Marcy!" said Bonnie, but then she and the others had to duck as the oversized Garbage Heartless went wild and began smashing the buildings around it, "but could you have hit it in a less infuriating spot?"

"Ugh! Nag, nag, nag," said Marceline as she flew down and hovered near Bonnie. She then saw Aiden, Tess and Malcolm, sniffing the air around them, "oh, who's the new humans?"

"Friends of RIku," said Bonnie, "and where is Riku? And where the jam are Finn and Jake by the way?"

Just then Jake, stretched to match the size of the giant Garbage Heartless, appeared behind and grabbed the creature, while Finn and Riku jumped from one of the damaged buildings.

"Oh, never mind!" said Bonnie as she and the others saw Finn and Riku run up to the restrained creature, climbed up its refuse hulk and stabbed it where the heart should be, then jumped away as the creature began to collapse on itself. Jake stretched around to and grabbed Finn and Riku, gently lowing them to the ground and resumed his normal shape and size, just as the oversized Garbage Heartless burst into a cloud of smoke, from which emerged a large crystal heart that rose up into and vanished in the air.

"Eeew!" exclaimed a disgusted Jake as he sniffed himself, "I so need a bath after grabbing that thing!"

"'You'd better take a bath if you ever expect to taste this rainbow again!'" said Lady Rainicorn irately in Korean.

"I think we all need a bath after all the garbage we've had to clean up," said Riku. He then saw Aiden and Malcolm, "oh my god! You guys! You're here!"

"Long time no see, man!" said Aiden, while Malcolm waved a friendly hello.

"Those your friends, Riku?" asked Finn.

"My best friends," said Riku, "some of them." He then saw Tess, whom was walking towards him with love in her eyes and a smile on her face, "oh," he said, rendered speechless.

"Ah, so that's his girlfriend," said Marceline, "aww, they're gonna kiss after being away from each other for so long."

But instead, Tess shocked everyone by slapping Riku across the face.

"Riku, you jerk!" snapped Tess.

"What the hell!?" exclaimed Riku as he felt where Tess slapped him.

"Do you have any idea what I've been through!?" exclaimed Tess, "the hell I had to crawl my way through just to get to you? And here you are, gallivanting around in a world that's like some kid's fantasy?!"

"You think I've been having fun?!" snapped RIku, "I've been trapped here fighting Heartless and hostile aliens who want to murder every sentient being on this world in order to blast off into space and murder every sentient being on another world! What the hell have you been doing?!"

"Fighting a war for the survival of a peaceful and righteous world! That's what!" snapped Tess.

"Same with me!" snapped Riku.

"Okay, time out, you two!" shouted Aiden, "good gods, you two! I thought you were in love!"

"I do love him!" snapped Tess, she then glared back at Riku, "but at least you could have told me you were alive, for crying out loud!"

"And how did you expect me to get in contact with you?" asked Riku, "for all I knew, you and the others were dead!"

"I was afraid you were dead, you jerk!" snapped Tess, "so don't talk to me about worrying!"

"Are they always like this?" Marceline asked Aiden and Tess, "oh, I'm a half-demon vampire by the way, but I don't bite," she then smiled mischievously, "hard that is."

"Uh, okay," said a slightly nervous Aiden.

By now Riku and Tess had finished shouting their frustrations and were talking more rationally, "so, Alegra's messing with us again, no surprises," said Riku, "where's Sora and Kairi?"

"Kairi's back on Radiant Garden," said Malcolm, "and Sora's off who knows where."

"No surprises there either," said Riku, "I'm just glad you guys are alright."

"Yeah, me too," said Tess, "let's just go back to our dimension so we can stop Katrina."

"Katrina?" asked Riku, "who's…"

"That's Columbina's real name," said Malcolm, "Katrina Spellman, long story. We'll fill you in once we're home."

"I'm not going," said Riku.

"What do you mean?" asked Tess.

"I can't leave Ooo yet," said Riku, "not until we stop Hunson Abadeer and The Red Lectroids from stealing the world's magic, long story."

"Looks like we've got some stories to catch up on," said Malcolm, "and some bad guys to stomp."

"Yeah, Ooo's got plenty of bad guy stomping going on," said Jake. With that Aiden, Tess and Malcolm were introduced to Finn and Jake, and more elaborately to Marceline and Bonnie, unaware that they were being watched by eyes cold, cruel and overall evil.

* * *

… _ **The Nightosphere…**_

"Your daughter has a habit of picking up somewhat irksome friends, Mr. Abadeer," said John Smallberries as he and two other Red Lectroids stood in Hunson Abadeer's office, watching our heroes and allies in Wizard City via a spying spell.

"We expected trouble from Finn the Human and his companions," said John Ready to Fly, "and adjusted our plans after taking that one Keyblade Wielder into account. But now there's four of them! Four! Now we have to adjust our plans once again!"

"I don't know, my brothers," said another of the Red Lectroids, this one named John Chief Crier, "modifying the byproduct Heartless to corrupt and assimilate what they destroy into larger Heartless may yet work. We just need to make them even stronger."

"I say we wait," said John Careful Walker, "we wait out Finn the Human and his companions. I say we withdraw all operations from Ooo and go into cryogenetic suspension for another hundred years."

"Go back to sleep?!" demanded John Ready to Fly, "We had to sleep a thousand years already, and before that we were trapped in The 8th Dimension for eons!"

"We've waited that long for revenge on our Black Lectroid relatives on Planet 10," said John Careful Walker, "would it be so bad to wait a little longer?"

"YES!" shouted the assembled John's, causing John Careful Walker to cringe back.

"There's another option," said another Red Lectroid, this one named John Take Cover, "we could use the resources our dear colleague has at his disposal." He looked out the window at the chaotic wasteland that was The Nightosphere, where countless demons went about their daily hellish business.

"An invasion of demons," said John Smallberries, "yes, that would give Finn and his allies a run for their money. But it would produce far too much collateral damage. Remember, brothers, we seek to harvest Ooo's magic as a power source, not conquer Ooo outright. The amount of casualties such a campaign would far outweigh the number of prisoners taken. Besides, it's not in our original contract with the one who sold us Ooo."

"Then let us alter the bargain!" said John Chief Crier, "it'd serve that idiot right if we exceeded our end of the deal! And I doubt he'd care, so long as he has what we paid him."

"There's one thing we need to take into account, brothers," said John Ready to Fly, "the proposed invasion involves our dear colleague's people. He may not want to risk them in an extended campaign."

"I doubt he cares about anything else but his daughter, brothers," said John Smallberries as he and the other John's saw Hunson Abadeer continue to watch our heroes and allies, focusing on Marceline as she got to know better Aiden, Tess and Malcolm.

"Marceline, you dummy!" said Hunson Abadeer, "don't get to know those mortal morons! Your place is here as my successor in The Nightosphere!"

"Somehow I doubt she feels the same way, Mr. Abadeer," said John Smallberries.

"What do you know?!" snapped Hunson Abadeer as he glared at John Smallberries, his head beginning to morph into his true demonic countenance, "do you have any kids?! Do you know how heartbreaking it is when they disappoint you?!"

"Uh…no, I never had children," said John Smallberries nervously, fearing for his very soul.

"If I may point out something, Mr. Abadeer," said John Careful Walker, "if you are so focused on your daughter succeeding your position as ruler of The Nightosphere, then why…"

"Why I wasn't a better father?" asked Hunson Abadeer as he calmed down and his head returned to normal, "I had my reasons. Besides, I did the best thing any father can do for his children; I gave Marceline life."

"Surely you have other children," said John Careful Walker, "others who could succeed you."

"None with Marceline's power," said Hunson Abadeer, "none with her potential for evil. I've lived a very, very long time and have had many children, but none of Marceline's brothers and sisters hold a candle to her. No, I'm afraid all of my children save her were disappointments."

"Do I want to know what you did to Marceline's siblings?" asked John Chief Crier reluctantly.

"No, you don't," said Hunson Abadeer flatly.

"THAT'S IT!" exclaimed one of the John's whom until now remained silent, this one named John Many Jars, "I know how we can win!"

"Now what?" asked John Smallberries.

"Brothers, it's so simple," said John Many Jars, "how we can eliminate Finn, the Keyblade Wielders and the rest," he then looked at Hunson Abadeer, "and return your daughter to your side where she belongs."

"I'm listening," said Hunson Abadeer, while the other John's nodded in agreement.

"It's so simple it's brilliant," said John Many Jars, "Marceline is tied to Ooo because of her friends; Finn and Jake, Princess Bubblegum, Ice King and so many others, including those Keyblade brats. All we have to do is eliminate them, sever all of Marceline's emotional ties and she will have nothing holding her to Ooo."

"We know that, you idiot!" snapped John Smallberries. He looked at Hunson Abadeer, "I'm sorry, he's always been a bit off kilter."

"That's only the overall goal of my plan, John Smallberries," said John Many Jars, "it's how we accomplish it."

"Again, I'm listening," said Hunson Abadeer.

"We create a completely new type of Heartless," said John Many Jars, "and we do so by using the negativity of one of Ooo's most morose, antisocial, most overall unpleasant citizens. We use those Heartless to kill Marceline's friends, and then put the blame on that miserable citizen. Marceline seeks out and takes revenge on said citizen, she's left alone and friendless with only her bitter revenge for company."

"I see," said Hunson Abadeer thoughtfully as he smiled with malicious anticipation, "then I come in with open arms like the understanding, loving father that I am, she cries on my shoulder for a while and I offer to take her home, and before you know it, she's the new overlord of The Nightosphere and I can begin my retirement anew. Brilliant!"

"Yes, brilliant," said John Smallberries, "but who in all of Ooo is so downright miserable that we can use to make this newer, deadlier Heartless?"

"Oh, I think you know, John Smallberries," said John Many Jars as he smiled viciously, "you know the sourpuss I have in mind."

"Oh, _that_ one," said John Smallberries as he too smiled with wicked glee.

* * *

 _ **…Castle Oblivion…**_

"Well, are you ready to get back to work, young lady?" asked Katrina as Darklight walked back into the room.

"Yes," said Darklight, "I'm more than ready."

"Then let's get to it!" said Katrina as she zapped in a set of darts and a large dartboard representing The Realms of Light. Several worlds had been blacked out, marking the ones who's Keyholes had been cracked open, allowing darkness to drown said worlds.

"Okay, people! Place your bets!" said Dio Brando, "which world will she choose?"

"I hope it's Beast's Castle," said Gaston viciously, "I can't wait to go rip that furry freak a new one!"

"I just want to go back to my world and make Cinderella suffer," said Lady Tremaine.

Without looking at the others encouraging her, Darklight stood a few paces from the dartboard and threw a dart. It landed on a green world full of trees and vines.

"'Deep Jungle,'" said Regina, "the world of Tarzan."

"Looks like we're going back to nature," said Young Xehanort.

* * *

… _ **Olympus Coliseum…**_

The Lich stood out of sight as Hercules and Meg flew overhead on Pegasus, repressing his necromantic power to avoid detection. Ever since he had arrived on this world The Lich had to keep his necromantic essence contained, least he attracts attention from the famous demigod.

There was something about Hercules that The Lich found unsettling. Not only was the vile necromancer repulsed by the sheer goodness emanating from the son of Zeus, The Lich experienced a tremendous surge of emotions from his host; friendship, longing, joy. Such feelings were utterly sickening to the vile sorcerer and he repressed the emotions with thoughts of hate, rage and isolation.

This wasn't the first time The Lich had to repress his host's emotions. Ever since it began its tour of The Realms of Light, leaving behind its necromantic time bombs, every world visited brought out waves of positive emotions that The Lich found highly unpleasant. More than once, The Lich regretted choosing this weak, sentimental whelp for his host. Then again, had it ignored Sora, it'd still be trapped in the Mobius Continuum for who knows how long before another potential host came along, so The Lich decided not to complain.

The undead sorcerer sighed with relief as Hercules and Meg flew off on whatever childish, lovey dovey pastime they enjoyed. The Lich resumed its work of planting another necromantic time bomb set to detonate and unleash hell at a time of its choosing. But this one was more complex than the others it had planted already on several worlds in The Realms of Light. Not only did The Lich had to ensure that its curse wouldn't be detected by the native fairies, but also strong enough to overcome their protective magics.

Satisfied that its curse was set and safe, The Lich stood up and summoned another portal. Stepping through, The Lich found himself in a lush forest.

"More life," said a disgusted Lich, "yet another attempt to deny the inevitability that is death."

The Lich then sensed a powerful presence approaching. Taking cover behind some rocks, The Lich searched out with its mind for the presence. It then looked up, just as Tarzan swung overhead on a vine, giving out his famous yell.

"Another of my host's companions," said a sickened Lich as it fought off another wave of Sora's emotions. But then The Lich sensed something else, something foul, not as foul as itself, but foul nonetheless.

Several dark presences had appeared not too far away, presences that moved with purpose. "Interesting," said The Lich as it made its way through the trees towards the presences. Careful to avoid detection, The Lich spied Katrina, Darklight and the other villains awkwardly trekking through the jungle towards the world's Keyhole, "Very interesting," said The Lich as it smiled with foul glee.

 **The End of Chapter 1.**

 _Next chapter finds our heroes on Ooo scrambling to find where Ooo's Keyhole is, while back in The Realms of Light, Kairi and her fellow defenders take a stand against Katrina, only to meet someone neither hero or villain expected. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	3. Chapter 2: Libraries and Jungles

_Last Time found Aiden, Tess and Malcolm taking their leave of Enchancia and traversing through time and space to The Land of Ooo. After underestimating the festering tenacity of the infesting Garbage Heartless terrorizing Ooo, our heroes were reunited with Riku, as well meeting Finn, Jake and the rest. Back in The Realms of Light, Katrina and Darklight finalized their reconciliation and settled on the next world to attack, Deep Jungle. Kairi supervised the activation of the first combat AT units, while The Lich, possessing Sora, continued his insidious tour of the realms. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 2: Libraries and Jungles**

… _ **The Land of Ooo…**_

"Why are we going to the library when there's still so many Heartless running around?" asked Tess as she, Aiden and Malcolm, followed Riku, Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline in the late evening towards a crumbling but still standing library, possibly one of the few relatively intact buildings from before The Mushroom War.

With the assistance of Tess, Aiden and Malcolm, Riku and the others had, for the moment, rid Wizard City of Garbage Heartless, allowing the city's many magic users a chance to catch their breath. Now our heroes and allies were catching their breath, by walking to the library. Joining them on their leisurely way were Flame Princess, Cinnamon Bun and Lumpy Space Princess, all of whom eagerly welcomed the three Keyblade Wielders as friends.

"We already talked about this," said Finn, "there's only one way we're gonna stop Marceline's dad and those Lectroid jerks from using The Heartless as weapons; we need to find Ooo's Keyhole."

"And we have no idea where it is," said Marceline, "and believe me, I looked."

"Yeah, you told us you looked for it a long time ago," said Riku, "but what makes you think we can find it now after you spent so long fruitlessly searching?"

"That was back when the world was still settling down from The Mushroom War," said Marceline, "and I was still getting used to being a vamp. But now I've got two things I didn't have then; lots of friends to help me look, and this," she pointed at the library.

"There's a lot of books in there from before and after the war," said Princess Bubblegum, "if there's any clue as to where Ooo's Keyhole is, it'll be in one of those books."

"If it is, it'll have to wait until tomorrow," said Malcolm as he checked his watch, then took one of his anti-blackout pills. "Libraries tend to close at night, you know."

"Yeah, I don't think Turtle Princess will let us spend the night pawing through her books," said Flame Princess, while Cinnamon Bun nodded in agreement.

"Hey, I just washed my paws," said Jake irately.

"Oh, she'll let us in," said Lumpy Space Princess, "me and Turtle Princess are like that!" she then crossed two fingers.

"Somehow I doubt your friendship will help this time," said Flame Princess as she and the others saw Turtle Princess exit the building and was in the process of locking the front doors.

"Oh yeah?!" asked Lumpy Space Princess, "just you watch!" with that she hurried towards the library, with the others following closely.

Turtle Princess then saw the approaching group, "I'm sorry, we're closed for the night," she said, but then smiled as she recognized Lumpy Space Princess, "oh, Hey Gurrrl!" she shouted happily.

"Hey Gurrrl!" Lumpy Space Princess shouted back.

"Good evening, Turtle Princess," said Princess Bubblegum politely, "as one royal to another, we must ask for a favor."

"I'm sure you know about Ooo's latest crisis?" asked Flame Princess, "what with The Heartless running amuck across the land?"

"I read the papers," said Turtle Princess as she eyed Flame Princess cautiously, "so, what do you want? And more importantly, what do you want with my books?"

"Look, we just need to look up something called a Keyhole," said Jake, "then we'll be out of your hair."

"And such lovely hair it is," teased Marceline.

"Oh, well, you know," aid a slightly embarrassed Turtle Princess as she smiled while running her hands through her blond hair.

"It won't take that long," said Aiden, "we are kinda in a hurry."

"You haven't seen how many books are in there," said Jake, "it'll take all night."

"All night!?" exclaimed Turtle Princess, "No! No way are you spending the night in my library!"

"Come on, Turtle Princess," said Finn, "it's an emergency!"

"My dad and a bunch of weirdo aliens are out to seriously gank Ooo and everyone on it!" said Marceline.

"And we need to find Ooo's Keyhole to stop them," said Princess Bubblegum, "I'd consider this a royal favor."

"Come on, Gurrrl!" begged Lumpy Space Princess as she pouted in a pleading manner.

"Oh, alright," said Turtle Princess as she pulled out her keys, "I'll do it for you, Gurrrl!"

"Yes! Thank you so much!" said Marceline as she pumped her fist triumphantly.

"But I'm keeping an eye on you guys," said Turtle Princess as she pointed her key at our heroes admonishingly, then focused on Flame Princess, "especially you! If I find one page burned, one scroll scorched, one whiff of smoke in the air, I'm kicking out all out!"

"I won't even touch your precious books if that'll make you happy," said Flame Princess, she then looked at Cinnamon Bun with adoring eyes, "I've got this big boy to turn the pages for me."

"I'll even wear gloves," said Cinnamon Bun.

"Okay, then," said Turtle Princess as she unlocked the front doors, "I might as well get some coffee going, it's gonna be a long night."

"Seriously, how long can it take?" asked Malcolm as they all walked into the library.

* * *

 **… _4:00 AM…_**

"You just had to ask, didn't you," said Flame Princess in an exhausted tone as she and the other leaned back in the many chairs they'd pulled up around a large table. Around them were stacked the thousands of books Turtle Princess had pulled out from the shelves. After Riku, Aiden, Tess and Malcolm had been awed by the size of the library, they'd quickly realized how intimidating their task would be. Considering the sheer volume of books on magic alone they'd have to examine.

Fortunately, Turtle Princess had an extensively detailed catalog system, which she quickly used to locate the desired books on Keyholes, The Heartless and even a few essays on the nature of Kingdom Hearts. On the other hand, there happened to be quite a few on such subjects, some written by some scientist and rogue magic scholars from before The Mushroom War. Some were penned by the war survivors who became heroes when The Heartless first attacked the young Ooo, some by later magic users, a few by more modern scholars, while the vast majority were written by interdimensional travelers who visited Ooo over the past thousand years. All in all, it was a lot of pages our heroes had to turn.

"Oh, my Glob!" exclaimed Lumpy Space Princess, "my hands are so dry!"

"Well, handling a lot of paper will do that," said Princess Bubblegum as she put down one book and reached for another, "okay, next one."

"Hey! Don't mix your 'already read' books with my 'haven't read yet' pile!" snapped Aiden.

"Well, excuse me!" snapped Princess Bubblegum, "I wouldn't have to if you wouldn't keep your pile so close to me!"

"Dudes! Just chill out!" said Jake.

"Yeah, we're all tired and strung out," said Finn, "let's take a break."

"You think my dad and those Lectroid jerks are taking a break?" asked Marceline as she yawned, "though I could use a pick me up, anyone have anything red they don't mind turning gray? I used up all the apples."

"We noticed," said Aiden as he looked at a basket of gray apples Marceline had drained of pigment.

Everyone stood up and stretched, then settled down to relax for a while. It wasn't long before Tess and Riku found themselves alone off in the bookshelves.

"I'm sorry I went off on you earlier," said Tess.

"Me too," said Riku, "we've both been through a lot. I mean, you fought a war against Titans, Raztonians, demons, a rogue Alchemist and a psychopath in charge of an industrial nation that wanted to destroy a peaceful magical kingdom."

"You think that's crazy?" asked Tess, "what about Ooo? A world of candy people, living fire and…and whatever Lumpy Space Princess is, now that's weird. And talk about crazy, what about Finn?"

"Yeah, about Finn," said Riku, "he's the last living human on this world, and all he cares about is having adventures and helping people. I don't know what I'd do if I lived with the fact that I was the last of my species."

"Yeah, I'd probably go crazy if I had to endure that kind of loneliness," said Tess, "but Finn…he's…"

"Special," said Riku, "not just because of his many friends, he's…well…special."

"Hey, you two!" said Turtle Princess as she saw Tess and Riku, "no smooching in the library!"

"We're just talking!" said Riku irately, "what, I can't talk to my girlfriend whom I haven't seen is so long?"

"Yeah, this isn't smooching," said Tess," she then smiled mischievously and grabbed Riku, "now this is smooching!" with that she passionately kissed him on the lips. Before either Riku or Turtle Princess could react, Marceline's shout of triumph startled them back to reality.

"I GOT IT!" exclaimed Marceline as she held up a book.

"You know where the Keyhole is?!" asked Aiden as he and the others clustered around Marceline.

"No," said Marceline, "but I know who does," she then opened the book, "being a vampire comes in handy sometimes," she then rapidly flipped through the pages, "you learn how to read really, really fast."

"So who knows where the Keyhole is?" asked Flame Princess.

"That's kinda complicated," said Marceline, "you'll understand in a bit," she flipped back to the first page in the book and began reading out loud, "'My name is Simon Petrikov; let these words be my final testimony of sanity.'"

"Simon? This is Ice King's book?" asked Finn.

"Yep," said Marceline as she looked up, tears of remorse forming in her eyes as she remembered her long lost father figure turned insane magic user, "after he left me, Simon wrote his last clear thoughts down, before the crown completely drove him off the reservation."

"So Ice King knows where The Keyhole is?" asked a distraught Cinnamon Bun.

"Oh, well, that's just lumping great," complained Lumpy Space Princess, "now we'll never find it!"

"I take it this Ice King isn't very cooperative," said Malcolm.

"He's freaking crazy, that's what!" said Flame Princess.

"He's still our friend!" snapped Marceline, "yeah, Simon's not all there, but he's still good inside, mostly. Anyway, he doesn't know but knows who does."

"And the book says who does?" asked Riku.

"Sort of," said Marceline, "the first pages of the book, more like the first fifty or so, he keeps going on how sorry he feels about leaving me alone, his regrets for never finding Betty and how afraid he is about losing his mind to the crown.

"But then he writes about meeting a friend from before the war. 'Today I saw a familiar face; a face I thought was lost forever when the bombs fell and destroyed everything! Solaris Pretorius!'"

"Solaris Pretorius?!" exclaimed Tess, while Riku, Aiden and Malcolm looked equally surprised.

"You know her?" asked Marceline.

"Kinda," said Riku.

"It's a long story," said Malcolm.

"I'll bet," said Marceline, "anyway, Simon writes how he and Solaris were fellow scholars of the supernatural. But whereas Simon was an antiquarian with a fascination for superstitions and mythology, Solaris was a true believer in metaphysics and parapsychology.

"She told Simon she was within a mile of ground zero of The Mushroom Bomb and was exposed to the mutagenic effect of the blast, and survived relatively unharmed, except it turned her skin orange and blue. It also gave her magic, making her among Ooo's first true magic users.

"Solaris then asked Simon to travel with her, 'to explore this brave new world of ours.' Simon admitted that he was tempted but knew that his dwindling sanity would make him a liability, so he declined.

"Solaris understood, so she and Simon parted ways, but not before warning him about The Heartless and to keep an eye out for The Keyhole." She sighed with sorrow as she closed the book, "that was the last of Simon's sane thoughts. After that it's all crazed and chaotic ramblings. Simon went away and The Ice King took his place." She sniffed as she wiped away a few tears.

"Marceline," said Finn, "I…"

"No, I'm alright," said Marceline, "so, we have a lead."

"A slim one," said Princess Bubblegum, "there's no way to know if Ice King remembers this Solaris Pretorius, or even if she's still alive."

"Well, let's ask him," said Aiden, "I mean, how crazy can he be?"

* * *

… _ **The Ice Kingdom…a few hours later…**_

"Well, ask a silly question, you get a silly answer," said Aiden as he and the others stood in the chamber Ice King had dedicated to Fionna and Cake, complete with statues, drawings and mountains of books full of fanfiction.

Riku, Aiden, Tess, Malcolm, Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, Flame Princess, Cinnamon Bun, Lumpy Space Princess, as well as Lady Rainicorn and Peppermint Butler, had journeyed across Ooo to the frozen wastes of The Ice Kingdom and up to the front door of The Ice Castle. Gunter the penguin met them and showed them in, leading our heroes and allies to where Ice King was happily sitting on the floor, writing in a notebook.

"I've heard of Rule 63, but this is ridiculous," said a somewhat uncomfortable Riku as he looked at a drawing of Fionna and Cake, then at Finn and Jake, then back to the drawing.

"Let's just get this over with," sighed Princess Bubblegum as she averted her eyes from several drawings of Prince Gumball.

"Yeah, this is kinda taking it too far," said Marceline as she put down a statuette of Marshal Lee. She then hovered next to Ice King, "Hey, Simon?"

"Not now, Marceline," said Ice King as he continued to write, "I'm at a critical juncture in my latest Fionna and Cake story. I'm right at the point where Marshall Lee is talking to The Ice Queen."

"Uh…about what?" asked Marceline, unsure of she wanted to know what imaginings were tumbling through her friend's head.

"About asking Ice Queen to help find her sorcerer friend from before the war, duh!" said Ice King as he put his pen down and glared at Marceline, "so he can help Fionna, Cake and their friends from another world, The Keyring Holders. They need to find The Doorknob of the world so they can stop The Uncaring and defeat Marshall Lee's mom and her Blue Rectroid cohorts! Big twist when I wrote that, huh?"

"Uh…yeah," said Tess. She then whispered to her friends, "This guy should be locked up and the key thrown away!"

"That's what I've always said," whispered Jake, earning an admonishing 'shush' from Finn.

"Simon," said Marceline cautiously, "you wouldn't happen to remember Solaris Pretorius, would you?"

"Solaris Pretorius," said Ice King thoughtfully as he stood up and hovered via his flapping beard, "now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time, a long time."

"Then you know her?" asked Riku.

"Of course I know her," said Ice King, "she's me! Ha! Just kidding! No, seriously, I know Solaris Pretorius."

"You really do, Simon?" asked Marceline impatiently. Despite her friendship for Ice King, she was in no mood for his nonsense. Marceline flexed one hand, ready to smack Ice King silly if he turned out to be playing around.

"Yeah, she owes me money," said Ice King, "Last time we met, she asked for a loan, and she never paid me back! Every time we meet she asks for money and she never pays me back, the cheapskate!"

"You've met her more than once?" asked Aiden.

"Oh, we run into each other every couple of years or so," said Ice King, "and every time I end up giving her money."

"Why did she keep asking you for money?" asked Flame Princess.

"And why do you keep giving it to her?" asked an annoyed Marceline.

"I don't know, I just do," said Ice King.

"Must be her persuasive charms," whispered Cinnamon Bun to Flame Princess, whom shrugged her shoulders in a 'maybe' manner.

"Never mind that!" said Princess Bubblegum urgently, "do you know where she is?"

"Do I know where she is, she asks," said Ice King in a sarcastic manner, "of course I know where she is!"

There was a tense moment of silence as our heroes and allies glared at Ice King.

"Oh, you want me to tell you," said Ice King, "okay…umm…let me go get my address book. I know it's around here somewhere," he then began riffling through his volumes of fanfiction notebooks, "I could have sworn I had it the other day."

"Man, this is a total time squelcher!" said Jake irately.

"I agree," said Tess, "the longer we sit around while that lunatic," she pointed at Ice King, whom was now randomly throwing notebooks about, "the stronger our enemies get!" at that Aiden and Malcolm nodded in agreement

"Yeah, who knows what the bad guys are gonna throw at Ooo next!?" asked Jake, "I say we open a portal to The Nightosphere, kick some Lectroid but and tear Marceline's dad a new one!"

"'Are you crazy!?'" shouted Lady Rainicorn in Korean, while Marceline and Peppermint Butler shouted the same but in English.

"Jake, don't you remember how many demons were in line when we last went to The Nightosphere?" asked Finn.

"The whole realm is crawling with demons," said Marceline.

"We've faced hordes of demons before," said Aiden.

"None like the ones you've faced," said Marceline, "and don't forget my dad."

"What about your dad?" asked Tess.

"He's deathless for one," said Marceline, "you can't kill him. But even if he wasn't, my dad would have the home field advantage."

"I'm forced to agree," said Riku, "an all-out assault on The Nightosphere would be suicide."

"Oh, like hopeless situations have ever stopped us before," said Tess.

"This one can," said Riku.

"Oh, where is it!?" exclaimed Ice King ha he overed over to our heroes, "where's that darn address book!? That does it! I'm gonna have to tear this whole castle apart! Gunter! Goonter! Gunther! Günter! Goonther! Guntalina! Gunter with Flower! Get the tearing apart tools! We've got work to do!"

But then Gunter waddled over, holding a little black book under one wing. "Wenk, wenk!" said Gunter as he pulled on the hem of Ice King's robe.

"Not now, Gunter!" said Ice King annoyingly, "daddy's looking for his address book! Go get your tools, now, that's a good boy."

"Wenk Wenk!" said Gunter more urgently as he pulled harder on the robe.

"I said not now, Gunter!" snapped Ice King as he glared down at the little penguin, "I'm in no mood to play!"

"WENK WENK WENK!" shouted Gunter as he held up the little black book.

"Oh, Gunter, sweetie!" said Ice King joyfully as he picked the penguin up and held him lovingly in his arms, "you found my address book!" he then patted Gunter on the back, to which Gunter let out an annoyed belch.

"Now there's one smart penguin," said Aiden as Ice King set Gunter down, then began flipping through the address book.

"Yeah, but I'd keep my distance if I were you," said Finn, "Gunter's not so cute and cuddly as he looks."

"How bad could he be?" asked Malcolm.

"Well, aside from being obsessed with breaking glass bottles," said Princess Bubblegum, "he's also…"

"A creepy alien god who wants to eat everything," said Jake.

"Say what?" asked Malcolm.

"It's okay, he's got amnesia or something," said Finn.

"Oh," said Malcolm, "that's okay, I guess, one less thing to worry about."

"Well, this could be a problem," said Ice King, "Solaris has three houses in Ooo."

"Three houses?" asked Riku as he looked over Ice King's shoulder at the address book.

"And yet she still asks you for money," said Lumpy Space Princess, "some girls just don't get it."

"This coming from someone who lives like an animal in the woods?" teased Marceline.

"At least I'm free of my lumping parents!" said Lumpy Space Princess irately as she turned away and crossed her arms.

"Okay, so, we'll look at each house for Solaris," said Princess Bubblegum, "this isn't the end of the world.

"Not yet anyway," said Flame Princess as our heroes and allies left the room and headed for the front door.

"Gunter, you're in charge while daddy's out saving the world!" called Ice King, just as the front door closed.

Gunter looked around, waddled out of the room and found a secret compartment in the wall. He opened it, revealing a hidden supply of glass bottles. He carried some up to Ice King's balcony and began tossing them over one by one, the sound of breaking glass pleasing to the devious little penguin who was so much more than a penguin.

* * *

 _ **...Outside…**_

"Okay, do you all want to do this?" asked Riku, "do we split up and go to each house at the same time? Or do we take each one at a time together?"

"According to Simon's address book," said Marceline, "Solaris Pretorius has three homes in Ooo; a cottage in a swamp near The Slime Kingdom, an apartment in Wizard City and another apartment in The Candy Kingdom, so it makes sense to split up."

"New plan, everyone!" said Princess Bubblegum, "I'll return to The Candy Kingdom with Pepbut and Lady. Phoebe, you, Cinnamon Bun and LSP check out the apartment in Wizard City. Finn, you and the others head to the swamp."

"No probs, PB," said Finn.

At that Lumpy Space Princess gave an annoyed huff, "why do I have to go to boring old Wizard City?"

"Would you rather go to the swamp?" asked Flame Princess.

"Hey, I'll trade places with you, Lumpy Space Princess," said Ice Kingdom.

"Ugh! And get covered in swamp water? I don't lumping think so!" said Lumpy Space Princess.

"I'd rather not have Ice King tempted by all that magic," said Riku, "wherever he's going, I'm keeping an eye on him."

"And where you go, I go," said Tess, "I'm not letting you out of my sight again!"

"I wouldn't mind going back to Wizard City," said Malcolm, "any chance to learn from other magic users, even if it's only for a short visit."

"Guess I get the tour of The Candy Kingdom," said Aiden.

With that our heroes and allies split up into the three groups.

"So, Marceline," said Tess as she, Riku, Finn, Jake, Marceline and Ice King, approached the border of The Ice Kingdom in the general direction of The Slime Kingdom, "what's the deal with your father? Why does he want to destroy Ooo?"

"Oh, he's not out to destroy Ooo," said Marceline, then irately through gritted teeth, "it'd be simpler if he was."

"Marceline's dad only made the deal with The Red Lectroids," said Finn, "and they just want to take all of Ooo's magic so they can leave the planet and restart their war with The Red Lectroids of Planet 10."

"Well, that's just stupid!" said Tess, "just who'd be stupid and evil enough to sell an entire planet to a bunch of magic-stealing aliens? Not even Phobos would be that evil and stupid. Well, he'd be evil to do that, but he'd find a way to swindle the other party and keep it all for himself."

"We don't know who did it," said Finn, "but whoever did is gonna get his chops busted!"

"First thing's first," said Riku, "finding Ooo's Keyhole." He then looked at Ice King, "you sure Solaris knows where it is?"

"Huh? Knows where what is?" asked Ice King, "and who are you talking about?"

"Your friend Solaris," said Marceline, "we're going to ask her about Ooo's Keyhole!" she then held up Simon's last journal, "are you sure you don't remember meeting her long ago?"

"Remember what?" asked Ice King, "and what were we talking about again?"

"The Keyhole, damn it!" smapped Tess, "the gateway to a world's heart! If the Heartless get into it, they'll devour Ooo's heart and the world will crumble and fade away!"

"This is why we need to find and lock it before our enemies summon more Heartless than we can handle," said Riku, "and a flood of Heartless isn't something you want to deal with."

"How about just one big one?" asked Jake.

"A boss Heartless?" asked Riku, "they're tougher but always have a weakness."

"What about that one?" asked Jake as a large Heartless marched towards them. It resembled a Guard Armor, save for the large sword and shield it carried in its hands. The armor pieces were colored in various shades of yellow, while steam occasionally burst from its joints.

"Oh, this thing again," said Riku, "Sora fought and beat it so many times, it's not even funny anymore."

"It's not like the ones Sora fought!" shouted Tess as the yellow Guard Armor charged towards our heroes and allies. It brought its sword down at Riku. He barely dodged the strike, then was nearly knocked over from the force of impact as the sword buried itself partly in the ground.

"Dang, that thing's strong!" said Finn as he drew his sword, then had to get out of the way as the yellow Guard Heartless wrenched its sword from the ground, tearing up large chunks of snow and earth that rained down on the area.

"Ah, it ain't too tough!" said Jake as he stretched into a large, armored shape that matched the Guard Heartless in proportions, then stretched his forepaws into a sword and shield, "Put 'em up!" he shouted at the Guard Heartless.

In response, the yellow Guard heartless slammed its shield in Jake's face, forcing him to stumble and trip, falling flat on his back. "Oww!" said Jake, only for the yellow Guard Heartless to rush in and slam its shield into his face again and again, causing Jake, his face bruised and bloodied, to shrink down to his normal size and shape.

"JAKE!" shouted Finn as he rushed in and grabbed Jake, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow of another shield strike.

"Jake! Say something!" shouted Finn as he held his battered brother in his arms.

Jake tried to speak, but instead let out a rather lout belch, then a soft yet pained chuckle.

"Yeah, you're fine," said Finn as he carefully placed Jake in his backpack, then gripped his sword in both hands, "but this metal jerk isn't!" Letting out a bellowing war cry, Finn rushed at the creature, only to be forced back by a furious salvo of sword and shield attacks.

"That thing's way too fast!" shouted Tess as she tried to move in to attack yet was forced back.

"And too tough!" shouted Marceline after she managed to fly behind the creature and swing her axe at it, only for her weapon to bounce off the thick armor.

"It still has a weakness!" said Riku, "wait until the armor pieces separate!"

"Does it look like they're separating?!" shouted Marceline. She then blocked a sword strike with her axe, only to be knocked into the ground by the sheer force of impact.

"MARCY!" exclaimed Ice King. He then glared hatefully at the yellow Guard Armor, "alright, you metal meanie! You're gonna get it! Take this! ZAP!" he then aimed his hands and shot several bolts of freezing magic at the creature, only for its shield to block the bolts and sending them wildly in all directions, and accidentally freezing Riku in the process.

"YOU IDIOT!" shouted Tess as she tried to pull the frozen-solid Riku out of the way as the yellow Guard Armor stomped towards them. Marceline flew in and helped get Riku out of harm's way.

But then, by an ironic twist of fate, the yellow Guard Armor slipped and fell on a patch of fresh ice created by one of the blocked bolts.

"Let's get it!" shouted Marceline as she rushed in and began hacking with her axe. Tess and Finn joined the attack, while Jake, having recovered his senses, rushed in and loaned his enlarged fists to the onslaught, while stretching the rest of his body to restrain the Guard Armor from getting back up, all the while Ice King shot more freezing bolts at the creature.

It took several minutes but our heroes and allies inflicted enough damage to destroy the creature. It dissolved into a cloud of smoke, from which rose a large crystal heart that vanished into the air.

"G-g-good j-job, ev-ev-everyone," shivered Riku as he thawed out.

"Yeah, but that one almost cleaned our clocks for good," said Marceline.

"Hey, we won, what else do you want?" asked Ice King.

"Yeah, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt," said Jake as he stretched his bruised face into a t-shirt shape, then winced as his face returned to normal.

"We were just plain lucky," said Tess as she hugged Riku to share body warmth, "next time could be worse."

"Hey, if that's the best Marceline's dad and those Lectroid loonnies can come up with," said Finn, "how worse can it get?"

* * *

… _ **The Nightosphere…**_

"Oh, it's going to get a lot worse, you wretched little human!" said John Smallberries as he, Hunson Abadeer and the other Red Lectroids, watched our heroes and allies via the viewing spell. "Next time you won't win so easily."

"You consider this a victory for them?" asked John Ready to Fly, "I call it sheer dumb luck!"

"If it weren't for that ice idiot, the new Heartless would have pulled those pathetic peons to pieces!" said John Many Jars, "technically, my brothers, this was a victory for us."

"I won't consider it a victory until our foes lay dead!" said John Careful Walker, "every second we delay in the harvesting of magic is another second we have to spend on this miserable flyspeck of a planet! I want to go home to Planet 10 and destroy our true foes!"

"We all want to return home and destroy The Black Lectroids once and for all," said John Smallberries, "yet we cannot risk continuing the magic harvesting so long as our foes are a threat."

"Then we are agreed that the new breed of Heartless should be put into mass production, brothers?" asked John Many Jars.

"Indeed," said John Smallberries, he then looked at Hunson Abadeer, "assuming our guest remains cooperative. The new breed of Heartless requires a steady stream of negative emotions."

It was then that Hunson Abadeer and the John's heard a scream echoing through the halls of the building, a scream that resounded with intense mental anguish.

"Oh, he'll cooperate," said Hunson Abadeer, "I've got plenty of ways to keep someone miserable. Not to worry, dear friends, our guest's private pain will supply you with all the supped-up Heartless you can ever want."

At that another anguished scream echoed through the building.

* * *

… _ **Radiant Garden…**_

Kairi lay on a sofa in her castle chambers. The enormous four-post bed in the domicile was simply too big, too soft and just too much for her. She missed her old bed back at Destiny Islands. Yes, she was the ruler of an entire planet now and was expected to enjoy some royal luxuries, but how was she expected to rule when she couldn't even get a good night's sleep?

Then again, Kairi's sleeping patterns for the past several weeks have been anything but good, especially tonight since she had, according to her, barely gotten comfortable on the sofa, when Selphie burst into the room.

"KAIRI!" shouted Selphie breathlessly, "KAIRI GET UP!"

"You know, Selphie," said Kairi groggily as she sat up, "I could order your head cut off for just about anything. I'll regret it later and it won't do my popularity any good, but I can do it."

"You can cut my head off later," said Selphie, "we've got trouble! Columbina and Darklight are attacking another world!"

At that Kairi came wide-awake, leapt to her feet, changed clothes in record time and was ready for action, "Let's go!" With that, she hurried out of the room with Selphie right behind.

They met up with Quistis, Leon and Ansem in Kairi's office where a hologram of Deep Jungle was projected over the desk.

"What's the situation?" asked Kairi.

"SeeD Teem Tau-11 picked up a Dark Corridor on Deep Jungle," said Quistis, "Columbina and her gang of thugs are trying to reach the Keyhole," she smiled, "but this time we're ready for them."

"The new A.T. units?" asked Kairi, "are they ready for battle?"

"A few," said Leon, "Tidus is in charge of the first squad of six and they're loading theirs up for combat."

"And we have another advantage this time," said Quistis, "Team Tau-11 has a secret weapon; an environmental empath."

"A what now?" asked Yuffie as she hurried into the room, "sorry, I was sharpening my shuriken."

"You must go through a lot of polish," teased Selphie.

"Never mind that," said Kairi, "what about Team Tau-11 and their secret weapon?"

"Let's just say that this particular operative is most suited for outdoors combat," said Quistis, "you'll see when we get there."

* * *

… _ **Deep Jungle…A short time later…**_

"Okay, we're here," said Kairi as she, Quistis, Leon, Selphie, Yuffie and several bodyguards, beamed down from a Gummy Ship in orbit. "So, what am I supposed to see?"

At that our heroes heard a scream of outraged frustration coming from the forest.

"Sounds like Felicity's working her mojo," said an eagerly smiling Quistis, "come on!" with that they trekked through the forest towards the source of the scream, eventually reaching a clearing where two SeeD operatives were standing with Tarzan and Jane. Also with them was a girl in her late teens with caramel skin and long brown hair. She was kneeling knelt with her hands on the ground, sending out waves of green magic.

Kairi then looked up and saw several large vines rapidly growing from the trees, ensnaring in their living cables Darklight, Dio Brando, Gaston and Lady Tremaine.

"Commander Trepe!" said one of the SeeD operatives, "we've got them!"

"More like our magical friend Felicity has them," said Jane.

"I don't know how she did it," said an impressed Tarzan, "but that girl, she can command the very forest."

"I wouldn't call it commanding," said the girl, Felicity as she stood up and looked at our heroes, "I just politely asked the forest to help and she was more than happy to oblige." Felicity then noticed Kairi staring at her oddly, "is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing's wrong," said Kairi hastily, "it's just…you remind me of someone." Indeed, Felicity bore an uncanny resemblance to Flora, Fairy of Nature. Of course, by now Kairi was used to meeting alternate versions of people. She made a mental note to head to The Magical Dimension when things calmed down and check in on Bloom and the rest of The Winx.

"GET ME DOWN FROM HERE, YOU INSOLENT IDIOTS!" shouted Lady Tremaine as she, Gaston, Dio Brando and Darklight, struggled to free themselves from the vines, which only constricted tighter.

"Oh, just calm down, woman!" snapped Dio Brando, "you'll only make it worse."

"I will not calm down!" snapped Lady Tremaine as she struggled harder, "I refuse to submit to this outrageous treatment! I am…"

"You're a sadistic bitch who's finally getting what's coming to her!" said Yuffie. She then pulled down one eyelid while sticking her tongue out at the vile stepmother.

"And they can't escape?" asked Kairi asked Felicity.

"Not until I let them go," said Felicity.

"Then could you bring that one down a bit?" asked Kairi as she pointed at Darklight. Felicity nodded and touched the ground again, sending another pulse of magic at the vines, which lowered Darklight closer to the ground.

"Careful, your majesty!" said Leon protectively, "you know how powerful she is."

"I know," said Kairi, "I just want to talk," with that she walked towards Darklight, "hello, Bethany, it's been a while."

At that Darklight spat in Kairi's face, "that's not my name and you know it! Bethany Greenhill is dead! She's dead! Just like you will be when I get out of this!"

"You're the one who's gonna die, you creep!" shouted Selphie as she used a handkerchief to wipe Kairi's face, "after you tell us where Columbina is!"

Just then Katrina zapped herself into the area, "wouldn't you like to know!" she said venomously.

"Who are you?" asked Selphie as she, Yuffie and the bodyguards stood in front of Kairi protectively, whom then pushed them aside.

"Oh, sorry, you never saw me without the mask and costume," said Katrina, "It's me, Columbina, but my real name is Katrina Spellman."

"So, this is the real you," said Kairi, "but why reveal yourself?"

"It's a long story," said Katrina, "and I won't waste time telling it. LESLIE!"

Just then The Lord of Illusions appeared, armed with an RPG launcher aimed up. The vile trickster fired the projectile into the air, then hastily tapped a blue crystal to his forehead, encasing his body in a blue energy field.

The grenade exploded high up, releasing an orange gas.

Kairi then heard Felicity cry out in fear and pain, falling to her knees as the gas spread throughout the forest.

"PAIN!" shouted Felicity, "pain! Agony!"

"What's happening?!" asked Kairi. She then glared at The Lord of Illusions, "what did you do to her?!"

"It's not her!" shouted Tarzan, "it's the forest! It's dying!"

To the shock and horror of Kairi, she saw the gas dissolving the trees and vines.

"You son of a bitch!" shouted Quistis as she frantically searched her pockets, "you're using Agent Orange!" she then pulled out several barrier crystals and handed them out to Kairi and the others, hastily protecting themselves from the toxic effects of the gas as it settled towards the ground.

"Hey! What about us?!" demanded Gaston as the gas killed the vines holding him, Lady Tremaine, Darklight and Dio Brando, the four of them coughing as they fell to the ground.

"You don't have to worry," said Katrina as she used a spell to protect herself from the gas, "your powers should be protection enough."

"Oh, right, I'm a semi-vampire," said Dio Brando as he stood up, while Gaston and Lady Tremaine's vile abilities shielded themselves, as did Darklight's.

"You monsters!" shouted Jane as more and more of the forest was killed, "do you have any idea what you've done? What you're doing to her!?" she then knelt beside and comforted Felicity, whom was trembling in terror and pain as her empathic power forced her to share in the suffering of the jungle.

"It's her own fault for getting involved," said Katrina coldly.

"And what's a few dead trees?" asked The lord of Illusions, "when your whole world is about to die. I think you should be more worried about your pathetic lives."

"Why you?!" snapped Tarzan as he started towards the vile trickster, but was stopped by Kairi.

"No, don't do it," said Kairi, "I need you and Jane for something else. Get Felicity away from her."

"The gas is dissipating," said Leon, "but she needs to get away from the affected area fast."

"Beam her up to our ship," said Quistis, "that'll make her feel better in a flash."

"And beam up as many gorillas and other animals as you can," said Kairi, "just in case."

"But…" said Tarzan, wanting to fight.

"Do it!" insisted Kairi.

"You'd better do it, she's the queen, you know," said Yuffie.

"Alright, we'll go," said Tarzan.

"We'll take care of her," said Jane as she and Tarzan helped Felicity up. A few seconds later they were transported up to the Gummy Ship in orbit.

"Oh, why'd you do that?" asked Gaston as he cracked his knuckles, "no innocent bystanders to attack." He then cried out in surprise as King Mickey jumped onto his head, then jumped off to stand next to Kairi.

"Without any innocents for you to hurt, there's less we have to worry about," said King Mickey. He then looked up at Kairi, "sorry I'm late, your majesty."

"You're just in time, your majesty," said Kairi as she smiled down at her fellow monarch. The two of them then summoned their Keyblades, "Let's go, Bethany!"

"Don't call me that!" shouted Darklight as she summoned her black Keyblade, "you wanna rematch! You got it!"

"Oh, don't make me laugh," said Katrina as she irately crossed her arms and glared at Kairi and King Mickey, "you really think you have a chance? Don't even bother! Darklight! Ignore these rabble rousers! We've a Keyhole to crack after all."

Instead, Darklight issued a screech of fury and rushed at King Mickey and Kairi, whom also rushed at her. The three met in a clash of Keyblades light and dark.

"Why, you impudent, ungrateful little brat!" shouted Katrina as she and the others watched the furious Keyblade duel, "after I graciously welcomed you back to the fold! I should have scrapped you when I had the chance and started over with another potential Princess of Heart!"

"I don't think she can hear you," said The Lord of Illusions, "she's got bigger fish to fry."

"Shut up, Leslie!" snapped Katrina. She then sighed with frustration as she glared at the battling Darklight, "fine then! You play with the rabble! I'll secure The Keyhole by myself!"

"I don't think so!" said Selphie as she readied her nunchucks, while Leon, Quistis and the others got ready too.

"There's no way we're letting you near that Keyhole!" shouted Leon as he finished loading his Gunblade.

"You want it, you'll have to go through us!" said Quistis as she cracked her chain whip.

"Oh, I don't have to go through you," said a wickedly smiling Katrina, "I've got others to do that for me!"

Just then Quistis, Selphie and Leon heard the bodyguards cry out in terror, then let out wet gurgling death rattles. They looked and saw all of the bodyguards dead, their throats cut. Standing next to them was Dio Brando, licking blood off a pair of knives.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," said Dio Brando.

"I knew giving them red shirts was a bad idea," said Quistis. But then she, Leon and Selphie cried out in agony as Lady Tremaine's torment beam hit them.

"Yes! Suffer!" exclaimed the wicked stepmother as her three victims fell to the ground, writhing in indescribable pain, "suffer till your weak little hearts surrender!"

But then came a burst of high caliber cannon. An explosive shell detonated behind Lady Tremaine, knocking the vile woman off her feet and canceling her torment beam, earning sighs of relief from the weakened Selphie, Leon and Quistis.

"Where'd that come from?!" shouted Dio Brando as he looked around. From the ruined trees emerged an AT unit armed with a shoulder-mounted howitzer and a large caliber machinegun.

"Leave my friends alone, you evil woman!" shouted Tidus from within his AT unit as he aimed and fired another explosive shell. Lady Tremaine barely dodged the blast and was knocked off her feet again.

"What…what are you doing?!" shouted Quistis as she struggled to get back up, "you're supposed to be guarding The Keyhole!"

"Sorry, I couldn't stay away!" said Tidus.

"And impressive tin can," said Dio Brando as he readied his knives, "but I doubt it'll stand up to me!" but then he was kicked in the head by Yuffie.

"You wanna fight someone?! Fight me!" shouted Yuffie.

"Oh, it's so on!" shouted Dio Brando. With that he and Yuffie began a high-speed battle, ninja vs Stand User, a battle so fast it was beyond normal vision.

"Not going according to plan, is it?" asked The Lord of Illusions.

"Shut up, Leslie!" snapped Katrina. She then glared at Gaston, "You! Destroy that hulking annoyance and kill the other interlopers!"

"It'd be my pleasure," said Gaston, only to be hit by several machinegun bullets. He then had to dodge another burst of machinegun fire.

"I'm not letting you near my friends!" shouted Tidus as he maneuvered his AT unit in front of the recovering Quistis, Selphie and Leon, "'cause you see, this part of the story, it's all mine! It'll go the way I want it, or I'll end it right here!" But then he had to dodge a destruction beam from Gaston, then dodged another.

"Hold still, you brat!" snapped Gaston as his bullet wounds regenerated, then fired more destruction beams at the AT unit, but it was too fast, too agile, all the while Tidus shot more machinegun bullets, some hitting Gaston, yet the wounds kept healing.

But then Tidus's luck ran out as one leg of his AT unit was grazed by a destruction beam, damaging the limb and slowing the unit down.

Gaston then concentrated his destruction beams on the damaged leg, further damaging it until it completely broke, leaving Tidus helpless as the unit lost balance and fell down.

"Now to crack you like an egg, little boy!" shouted Gaston as he cracked his knuckles, then aimed his hands at the disabled AT unit.

"GEREONIMOOOOOO!"

Out of nowhere came Zell Dincht, delivering a flying kick to Gaston's head and knocking the bullying brute to the ground.

"Zell!" shouted Selphie joyfully as she got back up and ran over to Zell Dincht.

"Hey, Selph," said Zell as he and Selphie hugged, "long time no see."

"Darn right it's been a long time!" said Selphie, "Squall! Quistis! Zell's back!"

"Yeah, nice to see you," muttered Leon as Quistis helped him up.

"Is that all you've got to say to me after so long?" asked Zell, "after all we've been through, man?" He then had to dodge a destruction beam from an irate Gaston, "oh, sorry, party's back on!" with that he rushed at Gaston, punching the brute in the face. Gaston took the blow and threw a punch at the martial artist, but Zell dodged it and delivered another punch.

"Hold still, you fool!" shouted Gaston as he threw a punch and missed, he was then hit in the face again yet endured the blow.

"Just fall down already!" shouted Zell as he dodged another blow.

"Zell's faster than that big bully," said Selphie, "but the other guy keeps taking hits! He's indestructible!"

"Of course he's indestructible, the oaf!" snapped Lady Tremaine as she walked back towards Selphie, Leon and Quistis, the three of them backing away in fear, "as am I! Thanks to that goggled maniac, we are utterly invincible!"

But then came a high-powered rifle shot, followed by a bullet entering Lady Tremaine's left ear and exiting through her right. She fell to the ground, dead as dead can be.

"Invincible my eye," said Irvine as he deactivated a cloaking belt.

"So you guys do have a weakness," said Zell as he eyed Gaston. He then threw a punch that hit Gaston in the left ear, earning a cry of pain from the brute as he stumbled about.

"OHH YEAHHH!" shouted Zell as he delivered another punch to Gaston's ear, then another and another, until Gaston fell to the ground. Zell then unleashed a fury of punches that reduced Gaston's head to a bloody mess, leaving the brute just as dead as Lady Tremaine.

"And that's that," said Zell as he stood up and raised his blood, brains and bone-covered hand at Leon, "Hi Five!"

"Not with those hands!" said a nauseated Leon.

"Seriously, Zell, go wash your hands," said an equally disgusted Quistis, while Selphie held one hand over her mouth and the other on her stomach.

"Ugh! You just can't find good help these days!" snapped Katrina, she then glared at The Lord of Illusions, "and don't say a word, Leslie!"

"I wasn't going to," muttered The Lord of Illusions. He then smiled, "but today may not be a total loss."

Katrina then saw Darklight facing off against Kairi and King Mickey, the latter two bruised, bleeding and breathless, with King Mickey's left arm hang broken. Yet Darklight seemed barely winded.

"I don't know why I accepted your challenge if this is the best you can do," said a disappointed Darklight as she walked towards King Mickey and Kairi.

"Kairi," gasped King Mickey, "I think…we need to…"

"No! We're not running away!" shouted Kairi as she hefted her Keyblade.

"She's too strong, Kairi!" shouted King Mickey.

"Listen to your little friend, Kairi," mocked Regina as she and Young Xehanort walked up to and stood next to Katrina, "you should cut your losses and run while you still can!"

"And let them come back again? I don't think so!" said Katrina, "better to finish them here and now," she then glared at Regina and Young Xehanort, "and where the hell have you been?"

"Would you hold it against us if we said we got lost in the forest?" asked Young Xehanort.

"Yes," said Katrina contemptuously. She then shouted at Darklight, "Finish them!"

"Gladly," said Darklight as she readied her black Keyblade. She then glared at Kairi, "time to die. And after I'm done with you and cracking this world's Keyhole, I'm gonna do the same to yours."

"You'll never win!" shouted Kairi, "you can kill me if you want, but you'll never break my spirit! Just as you'll never break the spirit of Radiant Garden! We've been through too much, my world and I, to just lay down and die!"

"Whatever," said Darklight offhandidly as she raised her black Keyblade for a finishing blow. She brought it down, but Kairi blocked it, just as the diadem of Radiant Garden appeared on Kairi's head.

"Is that…?!" shouted Katrina.

"Her crown," said The Lord of Illusions as the diadem glowed and filled Kairi with a white aura, healing her wounds and restoring her strength. The sight of the white aura caused Darklight to back away in terror.

"It must be one of the diadem's powers," said King Mickey as Quistis rushed over and handed him a Hyper Potion.

"Don't just stand there!" snapped Katrina at Darklight, "she's just a girl! Kill her!"

Gritting her teeth, Darklight rushed at Kairi and attacked, yet Kairi blocked the black Keyblade again, and again and again.

Kairi then went on the offensive and forced Darklight back. Kairi's face remained calm and peaceful as she delivered one Keyblade strike after another. Darklight blocked each one but was forced back further and further.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed Katrina, "just kill her already!"

"You still don't understand," said Regina, "hell, I barely understand what's going on."

"That diadem is enhancing Kairi's inner light," said Young Xehanort, "and considering her pure heart, that's a lot of light."

"In other words, Darklight just can't compete," said The Lord of Illusions, only for Katrina to slap him in the face.

"I told you to shut up, Leslie!" snapped Katrina. She then facepalmed, "what am I doing? I'm a witch for crying out loud!" she then shot a killing spell at the vile trickster, disintegrating the current doppelganger.

"I'll kill you myself, Kairi!" shouted Katrina as she pointed her finger at Kairi and shot another killing spell, only for King Mickey to block the vile magic with his Keyblade.

"It's over Katrina!" said King Mickey, just as Kairi forced Darklight off balance. The corrupted princess of heart fell on her back, her black Keyblade vanishing as her concentration broke.

"No! Don't kill me!" shouted a terrified Darklight as Kairi held the point of her Keyblade over Darklight's heart.

"I don't want to kill you," said Kairi, "I want to help you," she then vanished her Keyblade and held out her hand, "I can help you, Bethany. I can bring you back if you let me."

"Bethany's dead!" snapped Darklight as she slapped Kairi's hand away. But then something caught her eye. She looked and her eyes widened in shock and confusion, "Sora?"

"Sora?" asked a confused Kairi. She then looked and saw Sora walking towards her from the ruined forest, "SORA!"

"Sora?!" shouted heroes and villains alike.

"Sora! I knew you weren't dead!" said Tidus as he exited his damaged AT unit.

"Get over here and give us a hug!" shouted Selphie as she rushed towards Sora.

The Lich then spoke a single word: "Stop!"

All light and sound seemed to go out of the world for an instant as heroes and villains alike were frozen in place, unable to move, yet remained away of everything as The Lich walked among them. The Lich paused in front of each individual, experiencing Sora's memories and emotions, displeased by the positive feelings associated with Sora's friends. The Lich was especially repulsed by the intense feelings of love at the sight of Kairi.

But then The Litch walked around Katrina and, to his intrigue, felt no memory or emotional association. "You, I do not know."

It then walked around the other villains, "them, I know," it stopped in front of Regina, feeling Sora's confusion as to who's side Regina is on, "whereas you, you're quite intriguing."

The Lich then unfroze the villains, earning gasps of shock from them. Darklight scrambled to her feet and hurried away from the still frozen Kairi, while Regina looked at The Lich with puzzled eyes, "you're not Sora, are you."

"No, I am not," said The Lich.

"Then who are you?" asked Katrina.

"I am…complicated," said The Lich.

"Well, alright then, not Sora," said a confused and slightly unnerved Katrina, "what is it you want?"

"To observe you and your mission," said The Lich, "you interest me," it then looked at Darklight, "you may proceed to The Keyhole," it looked at the still frozen Kairi, "she and her companions will not impede you."

"Uh, thanks, I guess," said Darklight. She then summoned her black Keyblade and dashed off towards the waterfall cliffs.

"How do we know this isn't some kind of trick?" asked Dio Brando, "how do we know you're not trying to bamboozle us, Sora?"

"Since when has Sora ever had the power to freeze an individual in place with just a word and no Keyblade?" asked Regina.

"He is and is not Sora," said Young Xehanort, "I sense an incredible darkness in him, a darkness with a mind of its own."

"And a really sick smell to boot," said Dio Brando as he frowned at The Lich, "you smelled like something died."

"I am dead," said The Lich, "yet I live to bring death and unlife wherever I go."

"A necromancer," said an interested Katrina, "possessing Sora. Wherever Sora wound up must have been hell on Earth to have run into you."

"Again, it's complicated," said The Lich. It then walked over to the remains of Gaston and vanished the body before proceeding to the remains of Lady Tremaine.

"What do you want with them?" asked Dio Brando, "we'll just bring them back as clones."

"I have my reasons," said The Lich after vanishing the body of Lady Tremaine, just as they heard the distant sound of machinegun fire and cannon blasts, as well as missile blasts and laser cannons.

"Sounds like Darklight's running into some resistance," said another Doppelganger of The Lord of Illusions as he appeared next to Katrina.

"She has this," said Katrina, just as first one, then several more explosions could be heard, the sound of exploding AT units.

"Won't be long now," said Regina. She then glared at the still frozen Kairi, "so let's finish her and the others off before the darkness flood begins!"

"No," said The Lich, "not yet," it then walked up to Kairi. Though she was still unable to move, The Lich could sense Kairi's fear from his close proximity, "I have a plan for them."

Just then the villains felt the ground shake violently, followed by a geyser of darkness spouting from the direction of the waterfall cliffs.

"It's done!" said Darklight as she dashed back into the area. She then looked at the still frozen Kairi, "want me to take finish her off while she's helpless."

"No, leave her and the others be for now," said Katrina, "I have a feeling their suffering is just beginning." She then summoned a Dark Corridor, "shall we?" she asked as she looked at The Lich.

"After you," said The Lich as he looked towards the approaching flood of Heartless, "I'd like to watch for a moment."

"Suit yourself," said Dio Brando as he, Katrina, The Lord of Illusions and Young Xehanort entered the Dark Corridor.

Regina was about to leave, when she saw The Litch bending down to touch the ground, whispering something she couldn't understand. She eyed The Lich suspiciously before stepping through the Dark Corridor.

"We will meet again," said The Lich to Kairi, "and all you know, all you care for, all you love, shall meet with death." With that it stepped through the Dark Corridor, which closed up after it.

Instantly, Kairi and the others unfroze. They looked around in confusion, then all began shouting at once, save for Kairi and King Mickey.

But then King Mickey got everyone's attention with a loud whistle, "I think we've got a bigger problem, everybody!" he then pointed to the approaching flood of Heartless.

"Get us out of here, now!" shouted Quistis into a communicator. Our heroes were beamed aboard the Gummy Ship in orbit, mere seconds before the tide of darkness swept them away.

"What the hell was that?!" shouted Zell as he and the others hurried to the viewports. Already looking out was Tarzan and Jake, the two struck dumb at the sight of their world flooded with darkness.

"Squall, what the hell just happened, man?!" demanded Zell.

"I'll tell you what happened," said an outraged Leon, "we've been betrayed! That's what!"

"I don't believe it," said Selphie, while Tidus shook his head in denial, "I just can't believe it! Sora, he…he…"

"He's gone over to the darkness," said Quistis, "face it, Sora's an enemy now. Whatever Columbina…I mean…Katrina…whatever she did when she sent Sora away, it turned him."

"But he's our friend," said Selphie.

"A friend who's now evil," said Yuffie irately as she sat down and began sharpening her shuriken again, "I'm gonna kill him! After I finish fighting that Dio jerk, I'm gonna kill Sora!"

"No, I'm gonna kill him!" said Zell, "that guy totally messed us up!"

"We'll all kill him," said Quistis, "together. Things may be much more complicated now that Sora's gone dark, but we can still win."

"You try telling that to Sora," said Tidus, "where'd he get that kind of power to just freeze us like that?"

"It's not Sora," said Kairi as she walked up to our heroes, having been to the infirmary to check on Felicity, "didn't you hear what that creature said, what Katrina said? It's not Sora. He's possessed."

"Uh…I must have missed that part," said a shocked and slightly ashamed Yuffie, while Quistis and the others looked just as shocked.

"But possessed by what?" asked King Mickey.

"Evil in its purest form," said Kairi with grim conviction, though deep within her heart she wished, she prayed, it were otherwise.

 **The End of Chapter 2.**

 _Next chapter finds our heroes on Ooo searching for Solaris Pretorius, while back in The Realms of light, our heroes there struggle to come to terms with the latest dramatic twist. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	4. Chapter 3: A Swampy Encounter

_Last Time found our heroes on Ooo seeking the location of Ooo's Keyhole. After hours of exhausting research, Marceline found a lead; Solaris Pretorius, one of Ooo's first true magic users and an old colleague of The Ice King. With that our heroes set out to find Solaris and, Glob willing, The Keyhole._

 _Meanwhile in The Realms of Light, Kairi and her group managed to ambush Katrina and the other villains on Deep Jungle and fight Darklight to a standstill. Tapping into her diadem's power, Kairi had the Princess of Dark on the ropes, when The Lich, using Sora's stolen body, interfeared and allowed Darklight to complete her foul mission of cracking open Deep Jungle's Keyhole. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 3: A Swampy Encounter**

 **...Radiant Garden...**

"I hope this is satisfactory," said Kairi as she oversaw the establishment of a refugee camp for Deep Jungle's gorillas. A sizable area of the crystal wastes had been plowed over and, with a touch of magic from Lara Dunbar, fully grown trees planted, forming a small but livable forest.

"I hope so too," said Jane as she, Lara and Kairi, watched Tarzan lead his gorilla family into their new home, "but there's no telling how well they'll adapt to this world."

"I can always make more trees for them," said Lara.

"I know you can," said Kairi, "but there's no substitute for one's home, not when it's all you knew."

"I can make it anything they want," said Lara indignantly, "if they want a forest made out of Legos, I can do it. It'll take time to put it all together but I can do it."

"Yeah, I know," said Kairi, "but…" she sighed with frustration, "I wonder how many more refugee camps we'll have to make before this is over." She sighed again and walked away, with a new squad of bodyguards following.

"Where're you going?" asked Lara as she caught up with Kairi.

"To the hospital to check on a friend," said Kairi.

"I already check on Felicity," said Jane as she hurried to catch up, "she's resting comfortably but…"

"But a world with so few trees isn't helping her environmental empathy," said Kairi, "I'll still go say hello."

"Hang on, I'll take you," said Lara. She grabbed Kairi by the arm and the two teleported out, leaving Jane and the bodyguards surprised and confused.

"Don't do that!" snapped Kairi as she and Lara materialized at the hospital, "not without asking first!"

"Sorry," said Lara, "I thought you were in a hurry."

"I am sorta," said Kairi, "I've got a big meeting soon, but ask first! Didn't Merlin, Yen Sid and your grandmother teach you magical ethics?"

"Ethics?" asked Lara, "Uh…sorry, they didn't cover that in my lessons, sorry."

"Never mind," said Kairi, "I'll teach you later. Just ask next time, okay?" With that she went to a private room where Felicity was indeed sleeping soundly, yet looked pale and withdrawn, as if indeed the lack of trees and plants on the planet was affecting her in body, mind and heart.

Kairi then wrote a note for Felicity, thanking her for all she did and expressed hopes for a speedy recovery. As she left the note on the bedside table and walked out, Kairi again thought about how much Fleicity resembled Flora. She wondered if there were any other alternates of The Winx in The Realms.

"Okay, back to the castle," said Kairi to Lara.

"One teleport, coming up!" said Lara eagerly as she and Kairi held hands and vanished, reappearing on one of the castle balconies. Inside a meeting involving Quistis, Leon, Cid, Yuffie, Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, Hayner, Pence Olette and the other heroes, was in full swing, and judging by the chaotic cacophony from the attending heroes, was not going well.

"Wow, they're really upset," said Lara after casting a noise cancelation spell around her and Kairi.

"With good reason," said Kairi, "you did hear what happened, right?"

"Darn right I heard," said Lara irately, "I can't believe Sora would do that? Go dark I mean, I mean, seriously, WTF?"

"As I've told everyone already," said a frustrated Kairi, "it wasn't really Sora, he's possessed by an evil greater than anything we've faced before, and I don't know how to stop it." Her face then set with confident determination, "but we've got to stop it, just as we've got to stop Katarina. Time is running out for all of us." With that she and Lara went into the meeting. Instantly, order was restored as Kairi took her seat at the head of the table, though she knew the calm wouldn't last long, just as she knew that despite her confident exterior, inside she was afraid, afraid of what was possessing Sora and afraid that she had lost him forever.

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"What do you mean you're taking a nap?!" demanded Katrina after she, Darklight and the other villains arrived back at their insidious base of operations, "there's only four more Keyholes to crack open. You can't stop now when you're on a roll."

"I'm tired," said Darklight irately, "I'm tired and sore from the fight. I want a shower and a good night's sleep before I have to fight Kairi again, let alone crack another Keyhole."

"You'll do what I tell you to do and you'll like it, young lady!" snapped Katrina, "I told you to ignore those Keyblade fools and you didn't listen!"

"They certainly gave you a run for your money," said Dio Brando smugly, "especially Kairi and that big crown thingy of hers."

"Kairi's only now beginning to understand the powers endowed by the diadem," said Regina, "we should have finished her and the other heroes when we had the chance," she then glared at The Lich, "but _someone_ said leave them be, and I want to know why! And just who the hell are you anyway?"

"Yeah, it's not like we can just call you 'Not Sora' or 'Evil Sora' or something like that," said Dio Brando.

"I have no name," said The Lich, "if you must name me, name me for what I am; _The Lich_."

"Very well, The Lich," said Young Xehanort, "but we still don't know what to make of you. How did you come about to possess Sora's body?"

"I found my host floating in the primal darkness," said The Lich, "where I had been trapped for what seemed an eternity, where I may still be and may yet remain forever if this body not come along."

"Well, it's a good thing I sent Sora along your way," said Darklight, "now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm due for some me time." With that she walked out of the room.

At that Katrina gave a frustrated grunt, "alright, take your stupid nap like the child you are! But you'd better come back and finish what you started!"

"You mean what _you_ started," said The Lord of Illusions.

"Dude, don't antagonize her," said another doppelganger of the vile trickster as he walked in, "she'll blast you out of existence, and there aren't that many of us left for her to zap."

"Oh, so you're running out of clones, Leslie," said Regina in a devious manner.

"Just how many of you are there?" asked Young Xehanort.

"Enough to get the job done," said both Lords of Illusions. The newcomer doppelganger then spoke to Katrina, "you know that stuff you asked me to find? The one last thing you need for The Sampo?"

"You have it?!" demanded Katrina as she grabbed the vile trickster by the arms, "GIVE IT TO ME!"

"I don't have it yet!" said The Lord of Illusions as he shook himself free of Katrina's grip, "but I know where it is."

"Tell me!" exclaimed Katrina, "I must have it in order to complete The Sampo!"

"It's buried beneath Central, deep, deep down," said The Lord of Illusions, "deeper than that old city they build the new city atop on. I'll go get it right away."

"Mind if I tag along?" asked Dio Brando, "I need to blow off some steam after stalemating with that ninja twerp," he then glared at The Lich as the foul necromancer walked out of the room, "and after getting served by that creep. Yeah, some reckless death and destruction on an innocent world oughta make me feel better."

"I shall go too," said Sephiroth, "I'm in the mood for a short jaunt."

"Take that lunatic Insano with you," said Regina, "I don't like how much time he's spending with those three traitors."

"They're making my new army of Titans," said Katrina, "you should be grateful that we shall soon be that much stronger."

"I just don't like it," said Regina, "I don't like any of this; Sora's possessed by a creature we know nothing about with who knows what kind of agenda. We also have that madman meddling with gigantic abominations, whereas you, you still haven't told us what you'll get out of The Sampo."

"I told you already," said Katrina, "final victory and revenge over my enemies; past, present and future. Now if you'll excuse me, I've arrangements to make." With that she zapped herself out of the room, leaving a frustrated Regina to fume.

* * *

 **…The Candy Kingdom…Land of Ooo...**

"Well, this was a total bust," said Aiden as he sat in Princess Bubblegum's workshop in The Candy Castle. He, PB, Peppermint Butler and Lady Rainicorn had returned to the city to investigated the house of Solaris Pretorius, only to find that the house had been empty for some time and was recently put up for auction.

"At least it's being used for something noble," said Princess Bubblegum as she modified her Ball Blam Burglerber, "a new school house for children."

"Yeah, but we still have no idea where Solaris went after she abandoned the house," said Aiden, "she could be anywhere in Ooo. She could even be in The Candy Kingdom and we wouldn't know it."

"Oh, I'd know if she were still in my kingdom," said PB as she loaded her weapon, "I know everything that goes on in The Candy Kingdom."

"Like you knew a wizard was living among your people?" asked Aiden.

"Don't push me, kid," said PB irately, "I'm in no mood to play around."

"'She could be disguising herself as a Candy Citizen,'" said Lady Rainicorn in Korean, "'Or disguised as something so ordinary we'd miss it.'"

At that Princess Bubblegum gave a gasp of surprise as genius flashed through her mind, "Lady! You're brilliant! I've just the thing!" she then went over to a nearby storage container and began rummaging through various tools and gadgets, "now where'd I put that ding dang device? Ah-ha!" she then pulled out a tricorder-like object, "my magic detector prototype! If Solaris Pretorius is hiding in The Candy Kingdom, this'll find her!"

Peppermint Butler then walked in carrying a Dynatec-like cellphone and handed it to PB, "for your communication needs, m'lady."

"Thanks, Peps," said PB as she picked up the phone and called, "Hey, Phoebe? We struck out here but are gonna keep looking, you know, if Solaris is hiding. Any luck on your end?"

* * *

 **…Wizard City…**

"Sorry, Bonnie, no sign of Solaris Pretorius," said Flame Princess as she, Cinnamon Bun and Lumpy Space Princess, stood in the streets of the magical metropolis, "We checked her apartment and she vacated it long ago. The property manager gave it to another renter and never received Solaris's forwarding address."

"I told you this was a waste of time," complained Lumpy Space Princess.

"No you didn't," said Cinnamon Bun.

"Yes I did!" said Lumpy Space Princess.

"No you didn't!" said Cinnamon Bun.

"I did! I lumping did!" said Lumpy Space Princess.

"Cut it out you two!" snapped Flame Princess as she put one hand over her cellphone speaker, "I'm on long distance," she then resumed her call, "what was that? I got distracted."

"I was asking about Malcolm," said Aiden on the other end of the call, "is he alright?"

"Oh, he's more than alright," said Flame Princess as she smiled, seeing Malcolm looking like a kid in a toy store. Malcolm gleefully looked around at all the magic stores and magic users, unable to decide which store to visit or which magic user to talk to first.

"You should keep looking on your end," said Princess Bubblegum on the other end of the call, "Solaris could be hiding. You never know. But odds are, it's up to Finn and Riku now."

"Yeah, looks that way," said Flame Princess, "guess we'll meet up with them at The Slime Kingdom, unless they too run into a dead end," just then her phone chirped with an incoming call, "hang on, that might be them," she then pressed the call waiting button and answered the second call, "you're on with FP!"

* * *

 **…The swamp near the Slime Kingdom…**

"Hey, Phoebe," said Marceline as she held her phone in the crook of her neck, while she, Finn, Jake, Ice King, Riku and Tess, as well as Slime Princess, sat on a large raft that floated on a current through the swamp, "we're almost at the house. Any luck with you and Bonnibel?"

"No dice, Marcy," said Flame Princess on the other end, "We both struck out but are gonna keep looking for a while in case Solaris is hiding. We'll all meet up at The Slime Kingdom after."

"Win or lose we'll see you guys then," said Marceline, "laters!" with that she hung up.

"No luck from the others?" asked Riku.

"Nope, nada and a whole bunch of nill," said Marceline, "if we don't find her here, we're back to square zero."

"Don't you mean square one?" asked Riku.

"Yeah," said Marceline, "but square zero sounded..."

"Algebraic?" suggested Finn.

"I was gonna say 'cooler' but that'll work," said Marceline.

"Wish I could get cooler," said a heavily sweating Tess as she slapped at a mosquito, then at another, "damn blood-sucking freaks!" she then looked at Marceline apologetically, "no offense."

"None taken," said Marceline as she effortlessly smacked a mosquito out of the air.

"Your friend just had to pick a house in the middle of a glib globbin swamp, Ice King," said a swearing Jake, though his magical body allowed him to repel mosquitos.

"Hey, I didn't know she'd have crummy taste in real estate," said Ice King as he idly waggled his feet in the water, though he too was sweating, "and it's not the heat that gets ya, it's the humidity."

"Then do something about it!" said Tess as she scratched at a mosquito bite, "I'm dehydrating while being eaten alive! And if I get some weird mosquito-borne disease like I got in Enchancia, I'm taking my frustration out on you!"

"Hey, don't fight," said Riku, "it's not that big a deal."

"Not a big deal?!" exclaimed Tess, "I'm going crazy here! If I don't get out of this swamp soon, I'm gonna…"

"We're here!" said Finn as the raft bumped against an island in the swamp, "Oh, and I found this," he then pulled out a bottle of anti-itch cream, which Tess grabbed and greatly applied to her skin.

"So, anything you wanna tell us about Solaris before we meet her?" Riku asked Ice King as they tied the raft to a small dock and went inland.

"She likes pickles," said Ice King. They found a slightly overgrown path that lead uphill through trees and swamp undergrowth.

"Really?" asked Jake as he smiled, "That's great! Finn! I think I stashed some of Prismo's pickles in your backpack."

"Or does she like carrots?" asked Ice King, "Or turnips? Or maybe it's oranges, I don't know."

"Should have known," muttered Riku.

They soon reached a clearing and found a cabin in relatively good repair. Laying on a porch swing was an individual who bore a strong resemblance to a certain hillbilly character from The Powerpuff Girls, complete down to fur-covered skin, overalls and antenna.

"Uh, excuse me," said Riku as our heroes approached the cabin, catching the hillbilly's attention.

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM MY PROPERTY!" shouted the hillbilly as he pulled out a lever-action blunderbuss and fired a magic blast at our heroes, the shot barely missing Finn's hat.

"Whoa! Wait a second!" shouted Finn as he and the others backed away.

"That was just a warning shot," said the hillbilly as he reloaded his magic blunderbuss, "I won't miss again!"

"Okay, okay! We won't come any closer!" said Marceline, "jeez, what's your problem, mister?"

"I gotta problem with anyone who thinks they can trespass on my property," said the hillbilly, "now what'cha want?" He then aimed his blunderbuss at Marceline, "and don't even think about coming onto my property!"

"We just want to know if there's any other houses around," said Riku, "we're looking for someone?"

"Do you know Solaris Pretorius?" asked Jake asked, "magic user with orange and blue skin? You know her?"

"Tain't no one else round these parts," said the hillbilly. He then lowered his weapon and touched his chin in a thoughtful manner, "but come'ta think of it, I did buy the place from a orange and blue lady."

"She sold it to you?" asked a dejected Tess, while Riku and the others sighed with disappointment.

"Years and years ago," said the hillbilly.

"Did she say anything about where she was going?" Riku asked, "did she leave a forwarding address or any contact info?"

"Nope," said the hillbilly, "ain't no mailman come 'round here anyway. Now, if there ain't anything else you need," he then picked up his blunderbuss, "I kindly ask you get your sorry keisters away from my property!"

"We're going already," said an irate Marceline as she and the others headed back towards the docks, "Sheesh, what a jerk," she said once they were out of earshot of the hillbilly.

"Some people just want to be left alone," said Riku.

"Yeah, but this is taking it too far," said Tess. Just then they all heard several more blunderbuss blasts.

"Oh great! That jerk's chasing us!" said Jake.

"HEY! I TOLD YOU VARMITS TO KEEP OFF MY PROPERTY!"

"Varmits?!" exclaimed Marceline.

"Varmits?" asked Tess and Riku.

"Really nasty troublemaker critters with a taste for pumpkins," said Marceline, "they gave me and Bonnibel a lot of trouble a while back," she then paused as more blunderbuss blasts sounded, "but what are they doing here so far away from the Rock Candy Mines?"

"Who cares?" asked Jake, "not our problem. They wanna bug that jerk, no sweat off my back."

"No, Jake," said Finn as he drew his sword, "we gotta help him."

"He won't appreciate it," said Tess, "But…I guess it's the right thing to do, even if he is an ungrateful jerk." With that she and RIku summoned their Keyblades.

"Alright!" said an excited Ice King, "Let's zap some critters!"

They hurried back up the hill and found the cabin under siege by dozens of quadruped creatures with greenish-yellow shell-like torsos and eyeless heads and mouths filled with very large, very sharp white teeth. The creatures were dripping swamp water and slime as they swarmed around the cabin.

"Eew!" said Jake, "Swamp Varmits!"

"Consarn it! I'll get you Varmits!" shouted the hillbilly as he blasted one of the creatures off its feet. It landed belly up, revealing a Heartless Embalm on its torso.

"Oh, you've got to be freaking kidding!" said Riku as he and the others saw the telltale marking.

"Heartless Varmits?!" exclaimed Marceline irately, "that does it!" with that she zoomed at and smashed her bass axe into one of the Swamp Varmits, destroying it.

"Hey! Save some for us!" shouted Ice King, "ZAP!" he then froze several Swamp Varmits solid. Finn and Jake ran among the disabled creatures and smashed them to oblivion.

"What the…?!" shouted the hillbilly as he reloaded his magic blunderbuss, "I told you trespassers to get away from my property!"

"You can evict us later!" shouted Riku as he and Tess destroyed more of the Swamp Varmits, "after we save your sorry life."

"So suck it up, you ungrateful jerk!" said Tess as she stabbed and destroyed one of the creatures.

After another minute the creatures had all been destroyed.

"Good grief!" said Marceline, "Now the Red Lectroids are making Varmit Heartless? Bonnibel won't like this."

"We'll tell her when we meet up at The Slime Kingdom," said Finn. He then looked around, "Uh…anyone seen Slime Princess?"

"Uh…right here, Finn!" said Slime Princess nervously as she stood a few feet away from our heroes, the barrel of the blunderbuss aimed at her head.

"This here's the last time I tell you trespassers to get off my gosh darn property!" shouted the hillbilly.

"Get away from here, you jerk!" shouted Finn as he tried to rush at the hillbilly, only to be held back by Riku and Jake, "we saved your stupid life and this's how you repay us? What's your problem!?"

"My problem is I don't want no one steppin' onto my property!" shouted the hillbilly.

"Guys, I really think we should leave," said Slime Princess in a fear-trembling tone.

"Screw your stupid property!" shouted Marceline, "we all need to get out of here! If these Varmits are anything like real Varmits, then the Mother Varmit's not far behind!"

"Mother Varmit?" asked Tess. Just then an enormous Swamp Varmit with multiple legs and a slime-dripping tail, burst into the clearing.

"Oh, that's a Mother Varmit," said Tess.

"GET OFF MY PROPERTY!" shouted the hillbilly as he aimed and fired his blunderbuss as the Mother Varmit. The blast hit the creature's armored torso and bounced off harmlessly. In response, the creature charged at and rammed the cabin, demolishing it.

"My property!" wailed the hillbilly as the Mother Varmit extracted itself from the cabin wreckage.

"Man, forget your property!" shouted Ice King as he hovered in the air and pelted the creature with ice bolts, "your property's dead!"

"It's useless, Simon!" shouted Marceline, "Bonnibel and I barely survived fighting a real Mother Varmit and this thing's way stronger!"

"Ha! Nothing can beat my ice powers!" shouted Ice King, "I'll just turn down the AC and…" he then formed and sent a massive ball of ice at the creature. The Mother Varmit sensed it coming and aimed its dripping tail at the ice ball. A yellow object shot out from the tail and hit the ice ball, releasing a large amount of acid that melted and broke the ice ball apart.

"Eew! Gross!" shouted Jake.

"At least it's not shooting Varmit eggs," said Marceline as she morphed into a centaur-like demon, charging at the Mother Varmit and delivered a massive punch, followed by a double-forward hoof strike, knocking the creature back.

Riku, Tess and Finn rushed in and began attacking the creature's legs, but then had to back way as the damaged appendages regenerated and lashed out at them.

Jake then stretched over and delivered a large-fisted punch to the creature's head, cracking some of its teeth. But then the Mother Varmit grabbed Jake and tossed him into the cabin wreckage. The creature then jumped into the wreckage and began stomping with its legs in order to crush Jake.

"Hang on, Bro!" shouted Finn as he rushed in, only to be kicked out by the creature.

"FINN!" shouted Marceline as she caught Finn and set him on the ground.

"Wow, that…really hurt," groaned Finn as he realized how hard the creature kicked him.

"Consarn it! I've had enough!" shouted the hillbilly as he threw down the blunderbuss. He was then engulfed in an orange and blue magic aura. When the aura faded, he was replaced by a woman in her mid-30's with waist-length orange and blue hair that matched her skin. She had brown eyes behind scratched and heavily taped glasses and wore a patched and frayed labcoat over a flannel shirt and jeans.

"What do I have to do to be left alone in this world!?" shouted the woman as she cast a spell at the Mother Varmit, hitting the creature with a beam of orange magic that dragged it from the wrecked cabin and flipped it onto its back.

"NOW!" shouted Marceline as she morphed into a werewolf form, "GET IT NOW!"

"GOT IT!" shouted Jake as he emerged from the cabin wreckage and stretched his feet as big as he could and began stomping on the incapacitated Mother Varmit. In between stomps Ice King threw razor-sharp icicles at the creature, Marceline bit and slashed, while Riku, Tess and a recovered Finn hacked, slashed and stabbed.

Everyone backed away as the creature absorbed enough damage to burst into a cloud of smoke, from which emerged a large crystal heart that vanished into the air.

"Wow, I fell so much better," said Marceline as she and Jake resumed their normal forms, "wait until I tell Bonnibel this, she'll be so jealous."

"I hope your friend keeps up with her insurance payments," said the woman, she then pointed at the wrecked cabin, "someone's going to take responsibility for the damage."

"Are you…are you Solaris Pretorius?" asked Tess, "and if you are…then…"

"Why the disguise and harsh welcome?" asked the woman, "Yes, I am Solaris Pretorius, and I wore that glamour in order to find some peace and quiet."

"So it is you!" said Ice King irately, "where's my money, woman!?"

"I spent it all, Simon," said Solaris, "I needed it to pay off some outstanding debts, and no," she glared at our heroes, "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about anything! All I want is to be left alone so I can finish my work!"

"What work?" asked Finn.

"Are you researching the Keyhole?" asked Riku.

"Keyhole?" asked Solaris in a surprised tone, "then this wasn't an isolated incident? Have The Heartless invaded Ooo?"

"It's a lot more complicated, but yes," said Riku, "the Heartless are involved."

"We need to find and seal Ooo's Keyhole before it's too late," said Tess.

"And you two are Keyblade Wielders," said Solaris, "you're just the people I've been waiting for over a thousand years. There's not a moment to waste! I know exactly where Ooo's Keyhole is."

"Where?" asked Finn.

"I set up a really nasty dungeon over it to keep it safe," said Solaris, "but I remember where the dungeon is and all the traps and monsters I put there." She then summoned an old but well maintained satchel, "Let's go!"

"So, what have you been doing here all by yourself?" asked Marceline as she and the others hurried back to the dock.

"Yeah, what's this big work you're working on?" asked Ice King.

"My memoirs," said Marceline, "I'm one of the few people left who remember the world before The Mushroom War and have lived through Ooo's evolution. I have no idea how longer I'll live, but after living for so long and facing so many dangers, why take chances with history? So, I decided to take a long holiday and write down my story. Good thing I put all my writings away in a subspace pocket before you guys got here."

"And then you told us to go away," said Slime Princess, "rather rudely I have to say."

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Solaris, "and taking you hostage. I'm in the middle of a really bad case of writer's block and didn't want to be disturbed."

"Well, maybe getting back into the world will help," said Marceline, "I know a change of scenery helps me when I can't get any music done."

"You know what?" asked Solaris, "I think you're right. A holiday from my holiday may just be what I need."

* * *

 **…The Nightosphere…**

"Solaris Pretorius," said Hunson Abadeer as he and the Red Lectroids watched Solaris board the raft with our heroes, "I honestly thought you were dead."

"You know her?" asked John Careful Walker.

"We had more than a few run-ins over the centuries," said Hunson Abadeer, "pre-war souls have a distinct flavor and hers is ripe for the sucking, has been for a long time."

"Yet she still lives," said an irate John Smallberries, "your daughter and her companions still defy us!" He then glared at John Ready to Fly, "all because of your incompetence!"

"I didn't know that redneck was a magic user," said John Ready to Fly, "the only reason why the new Heartless haven't destroyed our enemies is due to nothing more than sheer dumb luck. But fear not, my brothers, our luck is about to change. I've designs for an even stronger Heartless type, and this time! This time, my brothers, those fools on Ooo won't know what hit them."

Just then they heard the scream of anguish.

"Just keep that sourpuss suffering so he can keep the negative mojo flowing," said John Smallberries, "I want those idiots dead so we can take all of Ooo's magic! I want to leave for Planet 10 already!"

"Oh, we will," said John Ready to Floy, "we will."

Just then one of the Red Lectroids handed John Smallberries a message, a message that made the vile alien frown with annoyance, "Well, this is aggravating."

"Now what?" asked John Careful Walker.

"Our friend who so graciously sold us Ooo isn't as gracious as he seemed," said John Smallberries, "he's complaining of not receiving payment for our business transaction and wants to renegotiate the contract."

"Renegotiate?" asked Hunson Abadeer, "absurd! The contract is clear; payment for Ooo will be received once The Red Lectroids have harvested enough magic to take their leave for Planet 10."

"And since we have been delayed in our efforts to rid ourselves of Ooo," said John Smallberries, "our business associate won't get one red cent! Not one copper penny until the infidels waylaying our efforts are disposed of. If he wants his money so badly, he can help destroy Finn and his allies."

"That pompous ass help us?" scoffed John Ready to Fly, "unlikely, though, it would do us well to keep our associate close, the better to silence him if he keeps complaining."

"You want to bring that idiot to my world?" asked Hunson Abadeer irately, "I don't think so, it's bad enough I had to shake his disgusting hand in the first place!"

"Oh, we're not bringing him to The Nightosphere," said John Smallberries, " _we're_ going to Ooo to pick him up. This absurd idiocy has gone on long enough. We're going to Ooo to finish off our enemies personally!"

"Well now, that suits me quite nicely," said Hunson Abadeer, "I've some unfinished business with quite a few people in Ooo. It'd be nice to get all those strings tied up before Ooo's destruction."

"Yes, yes, we'd all feel better when you settle your issues with your daughter," said John Ready to Fly offhandedly.

"Not just my daughter," said Hunson Abadeer, "and not just her friends," he then looked at the image of our heroes with Solaris Pretorius, "she and I have an old score to settle."

 **The End of Chapter 3**

 _Next chapter finds Riku and the others traveling to The Keyhole with Solaris Pretorius, unaware of the security measures Solaris has in store for them, while elsewhere, the villains seek the final component Katrina needs for The Sampo. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	5. Chapter 4: Of Dungeons and Dungeons

_Last time found our heroes in The Realms of Light realing from their defeat on Deep Jungle, while also trying to come to terms with Sora's apparent betrayal. Meanwhile, The Lich insinuated himself among Katrina and the other villains. Over on Ooo, Riku, Finn and the others were on the trail of Solaris Pretorius and found her hiding in a swamp. Rescuing the ancient sorceress from Heartless, our heroes welcomed Solaris among them as she promised to lead them to the dungeon she built to protect Ooo's Keyhole. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 4: Of Dungeons and Dungeons**

… **The Land of Ooo…**

"You know my dad?" Marceline asked as she and our heroes followed Solaris to the dungeon which she built atop Ooo's Keyhole.

"I've had more than one run-in with Hunson Abadeer," said Solaris, "I'm one of the last individuals left from before the war. If your father shows up, he won't resist trying to take my soul; it's just too juicy a prize for him to pass up."

"We won't let him get near your soul!" said Tess.

"We'll bust his chops first!" said Finn, at which Riku and Jake nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't be so quick to start the chop busting," said Marceline.

"Don't tell me you're having second thoughts about wailing on your dad," said Jake.

"And we already know he can't be killed," said Riku.

"But we can keep him stuck in The Nightosphere for a while," said Marceline, "I did a little research in the library while we were all driving ourselves crazy looking for clues on the Keyhole."

"No wonder it took so long," said Tess, "you weren't really helping."

"Hey, I helped plenty," said Marceline, "but that's not important right now. I found an old, old banishment spell that, if it works, can keep my dad out of Ooo for at least a hundred years."

"Now that would make your dad lose his cool," said Jake.

"Yeah, but how are we gonna get him here to banish him back to The Nightosphere?" asked Riku, "what, are we gonna use Solaris as bait?"

"I won't mind," said Solaris, "I've been hoping to whoop a new one on Hunson Abadeer for a long time." She paused in thought, "I've been meaning to do a lot for a long time now that I think about it. I've been by myself for far too long."

"How long were you alone in that swamp?" asked Tess.

"Ten years of isolation," said Solaris, "and I spent almost all of it recounting my life story," she then summoned a portable hard drive, "everything I've lived through before and after the war, it's all here."

"And you wrote it all down from memory?" asked an amazed Riku.

"Hell no!" said Solaris as she vanished the portable hard drive, "like I could remember every single detail of my life, like anyone can remember everything. No, I mostly transcribed my journals and diaries. Everything I've written down from before and after the war up till I settled in my cabin. After that, I edited it all to give my story a bit of dramatic flair. A few minor embellishments here, some small exaggerations there, subtract a couple personal and embarrassing moments, delete a tone of unnecessary and tedious details, and you've got an autobiography that'll make your head spin."

"Just how big is this book supposed to be?" asked Jake.

"Too big to be published on paper," said Solaris, "or at least not in one volume. There's still a lot of editing to do and I need to find a publisher, that and decide on a title. Right now I'm going with "'Millennium March: A Personal Journey through the Evolution of Ooo.' It's an okay title, but I keep feeling like I can do better."

"Well, I think it's a good title," said Riku, "I'll read your book when it's published."

"Thanks," said Solaris, "but it may yet be a while before I publish. My story is lacking one vital part; and ending. I have no idea how to finish it."

"What do you mean?" asked Tess, "you've covered pretty much your whole life."

"Exactly," said Solaris, "I've covered my life before and after the war, all the way through Ooo's evolution, right up to when I settled down in my swamp cabin to write. But that can't be how my story ends, with me sitting down to write. It's got to have a final chapter that puts everything in perspective, like a moral or an afterthought, I just can't figure out what. Oh, we're here by the way."

Riku, Tess, Finn, Jake, Marceline and Ice King looked around, realizing that during their long trek and talk with Solaris, she had led them to the mountains and were in a boulder-strewn valley.

"This is it?" asked Riku, "Ooo's Keyhole is here?"

"This is where you built the dungeon atop it?" asked Tess.

"Yep," said Solaris, "and it wasn't easy, I'll tell you."

"But where is it?" asked Ice King as he hovered and looked around, "all I see are boring old rocks everywhere."

"Thought you'd know by now, Simon," said Marceline, "things aren't always as they seem, especially in Ooo." She began looking around, examining the valley for a hidden entrance to the dungeon. She was soon joined by Finn and the others.

"You're wasting your time," said Solaris smugly as she stood with crossed arms, "you'll never find the entrance that way."

"Okay, so you hid it really well," said Finn, "we'll just look harder!"

"Still wasting your time," grinned Solaris.

"Well, if you say it that way," said Tess, "why don't you help us find it, or just point it out already!"

"I could do that," said Solaris, "But I want to know if you guys are really up to the task of solving the dungeon. If you can't even find the front door, what chance do all have against the main event?"

"Or you could just tell us where it is and solve it for us!" said Marceline irately.

"Just chill, Marceline," said Ice King.

"Don't make me laugh!" snapped Marceline, "I'm in no mood for jokes!" she then hovered up to Solaris, "you may have all the time in the world to write your story, but people are suffering because of The Heartless and the jerks controlling them! And believe me, I know how bad a Heartless infestation can get, it took me fifty years of my immortality to clean them up when Ooo was just getting started."

"And I spent five hundred years of _my_ immortality figuring out how to keep The Keyhole safe from people who would use and abuse its power!" snapped Solaris, "I have to be absolutely sure of your intentions before I let you lot have your way with it, which is why you'll have to pass the dungeon's tests."

"Tests?" asked Lumpy Space Princess as she, Malcolm, Flame Princess and Cinnamon Bun, walked up to our heroes, "nobody said anything about lumping tests!"

"You guys made it!" said Finn.

"Yeah, we had to really motor it," said Flame Princess as Cinnamon Bun rolled up a flying carpet, "luckily we were able to rent a really fast one."

"Good thing our line of credit is good in Wizard City," said Cinnamon Bun, "flying carpets are expensive."

"Are you Solaris Pretorius?" asked Malcolm as he walked up to said magic user.

"I am," replied Solaris, "I assume you're also one of the Keyblade Wielders stirring up trouble in Ooo."

"Yes, if you put it that way," said Malcolm, "trouble does follow in the path of a Keyblade Wielder."

At that Tess gave an annoyed cry, "enough of this! Just tell us where the damn dungeon is so we can seal the damn Keyhole, damn it!"

"Well," huffed an indignant Solaris, "if you're going to act in such an uncouth manner and treat me with such impudence, I shall take my leave!" with that she took flight, "Might as well start looking for another quite retreat, memoirs don't write themselves, don't you know."

"Oh, good job, missy!" said Ice King irately as she glared at Tess with both hands on his hips, "Now we'll never find the dang dungeon!"

"Well, you stop her!" said a frustrated Tess.

"Yeah, she's your friend, Simon," said a now frustrated Marceline, "you talk her down!"

"Okay, I will," said Ice King as his beard flapped, propelling him into the air, "Hey! Solaris! Wait up, girfriend!"

"Leave me alone, Petrikov," said Solaris through gritted teeth, "I'm in the middle of an angst storm!"

"Hey, just chill a bit, will you," said Simon, "my friends they…"

"Yeah, about your friends," said Solaris, "they're very rude! I've accustomed to your eccentricities and downright bizarre behavior, but I don't have to stand there and be insulted!"

"They just wanna go home," said Ice King, "those Keyblade Kids, they've been through a lot and wanna get back to their world and the rest of their friends. But they can't until they know Ooo's safe."

"Is that so?" asked Solaris as she relaxed her irate stance, "well, I guess I can make a gesture of friendship, but that uncouth girl has to apologize first!"

"Umm…" said Ice King as he looked down at the still irate Tess, "I kinda doubt she'll apologize first."

"Then why should I apologize first?" asked Solaris, "when I am the victim in this altercation?"

Down below our heroes and allies looked up at the conversation between the two magic users.

"Wish I knew what they were saying," said Cinnamon Bunn as he shielded his eyes from the sun.

"Wish I could read lips," said Finn as he looked at Ice King and Solaris through a spyglass. "Hey! They just shook hands, and they're coming down!"

At that Solaris and Ice King landed and walked up to our heroes and allies, "alright, I'm sorry I pushed your buttons," said Solaris to Tess.

"And I'm sorry I yelled at you," said Tess, "I just want to get this over with so my friends and I can go back to our native dimension; we've got friends there who need our help."

"I figured as much," said Solaris, "I'll do what I can to speed things up, but I can't promise an easy dungeon excursion, you'll understand when we go inside. But first thing's first," she looked at Ice King, "now keep your end of the bargain. The usual amount will suffice."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," said Ice King as he reached into and rummaged through his pockets, then pulled out a few bills and coins, "just let me count it."

"You bribed her into apologizing?" asked Riku, while Tess had a look of outraged disbelief.

"It was this or argue all day," said Ice King. He then handed a sum of money to Solaris, "here you go, tree-fiddy, as usual."

"Thank you!" said Solaris as she pocketed the money.

"'Tree-fiddy?'" asked a confused Flame Princess.

"$3.50, duh!" said Lumpy Space Princess.

"Wait, that's how much you keep asking Simon for?" asked a confused Marceline, "pocket change? What could you possibly want that little much for?"

"I've my reasons," said Solaris, "now, about the dungeon…"

"No! We're not going anywhere until you answer my questions!" snapped Marceline, "what do you need $3.50 for so badly?"

"It's none of your business, young lady!" snapped Solaris, "and don't start with me about being a thousand years old! I was middle-aged while you were still a twinkle in your demonic father's eye! Now, are we gonna do this or not!?"

Marceline then saw the pleading and annoyed looks from Finn, Jake, Riku and the others, as if telling her to get off her high horse already.

"Alright," sighed Marceline, "but later we're gonna have a serious sit down about the money you keep bumming off my oldest friend."

"Fair enough," said Solaris. "Okay then, to find the dungeon entrance, you…" that's as far as Solaris got before something very fast hit her left shoulder and exited, spraying blood and bone fragments across the area and knocking Solaris to the ground.

"WHAT THE FRIGGIN LUMP!?" exclaimed Lumpy Space Princess.

"Yeah, what the freaking lump!?" shouted Marceline as she covered her nose at the sudden scent of blood.

Just then there was a small explosion right next to Finn, causing him to emit a high-pitched scream and leap into Jake's expanded arms.

"Everyone take cover!" shouted Riku as he and the others hid behind various boulders.

"There's a sniper out there!" said Tess as she and Riku hid behind the same boulder.

"Figured as much," said Malcolm as he looked and saw Solaris laying wounded out in the open, "we can't leave her like that!"

"I'll get her," said Flame Princess as she peeked out from the boulder she and Cinnamon Bun had hidden behind, "I'm closer!" she then hurried out from cover, only to cry out in terror as several explosions burst around her, forcing her away from Solaris and to take cover behind another boulder away from the others.

"Phoebe! I'm coming!" shouted Cinnamon Bun as he prepared to dash after Flame Princess.

"No! Don't do it!" shouted Flame Princess.

"No offense, Cinnamon Bun," said Marceline, "but you're too slow."

"We need a distraction," said Riku, "Tess, you and Marceline go invisible and grab Solaris while someone distracts the sniper."

"You can turn invisible?" asked Tess.

"You bet," said Marceline, "you?"

"Like I was born to it," said Tess, "but who's gonna distract our sniping friend?"

"I'll do it," said Ice King. Everyone then looked at Ice King with confused surprise, expecting him to do something incredibly brave and somewhat stupid. Instead, he did something incredibly selfish and very stupid.

"What the lump!?" exclaimed Lumpy Space Princess as Ice King grabbed her.

"Snipe on this, you jerks!" shouted Ice King as he threw Lumpy Space Princess out in the open.

"Thanks a lot, you blue-balled bully!" exclaimed Lumpy Space Prince. She then screamed and franticly floated around as explosions went off, "OH MY GLOB! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

"Got her!" shouted Marceline after she and Tess had went invisible, grabbed Solaris, made her invisible and carried her over to Malcolm, whom had several healing items out.

Lumpy Space Princess then reached cover behind the same boulder as Ice King, "Don't you ever do that to me again!" she spat after catching her breath, "I'll rip out your beard and hair and make you eat it like spaghetti!"

"Cream sauce or tomato?" asked Ice King calmly, "and can I get mushrooms and bacon with it?" earning an annoyed groan from Lumpy Space Princess.

"How is she?" asked Jake as Finn carefully peeked around his boulder and scanned the valley with his spyglass.

"Not too bad considering she was shot," said Malcolm as he examined Solaris's wound, "I'm nowhere as good as Kairi concerning healing, but I know how to treat a bullet wound. Then again Solaris wasn't shot with a bullet. Her wound's cauterized as if she was pierced by something white hot."

"Something hot enough to be too hot for someone from the Fire Kingdom?" asked an irate Flame Princess.

"Even hotter," said Malcolm, "this is really dark magic we're dealing with, demonic magic I'd say."

"My dad," said Marceline hatefully, "he brought Hellfire Henry!"

"Impossible!" said Flame Princess, "he was banished to The Nightosphere long, long ago after he tried to invade Ooo via The Fire Kingdom!"

"Well, guess what?" asked Finn as he zeroed in his spyglass at one edge of the valley, "Marceline's dad busted him out!"

* * *

"Your marksman isn't living up to his reputation, Mr. Abadeer," said John Smallberries impatiently as he, the other John's, several demons and a detachment of yellow Neo Shadows, stood looking down at the valley floor. At the precipice lay a red and orange-skinned demon wielding an elaborately crafted sniper rifle that fired hellfire-infused bullets.

"Give him a break," said Hunson Abadeer, "he's been out of practice for over two-hundred years."

"Well, as long as he keeps those infidel idiots down there contained, I'm satisfied," said John Ready to Fly, "That way our regular forces can get into position to finish them off." He then indicated the movement of more demons and Heartless as the creatures maneuvered down the valley.

"I still say this is a waste of time," said John Smallberries, "and ammunition. How many rounds has the marksman fired and out of that, how many hits? Just one, and a lucky shot at that."

"He was aiming for Solaris's leg, not her heart," said Hunson Abadeer, "I can't suck her soul if she's already dead."

At that, Hellfire Henry stood up, "it's no good, Mr. Abadeer; they're too far away and I'm too rusty. I can't hit the broad side of a barn even if I tried."

"I knew it," said John Smallberries smugly.

"Shut up! He tried and that's all that matters," said Hunson Abadeer. He then looked at the demonic marksman, "it's alright, Henry, you can always train and try again on other targets…wait, what are you doing?"

"Adapting to the situation, Mr. Abadeer," said Hellfire Henry as he vanished his rifle and summoned a mortar that fired hellfire-infused rounds.

"Now we're talking!" said John Smallberries eagerly, "share and enjoy!"

"Uh, Henry," said Hunson Abadeer as the demonic marksman sighted our heroes down below, "that's going a little too far. I need Solaris alive, not in pieces."

"I never leave a target alive if I can help it, Mr. Abadeer," said Hellfire Henry as he prepared a hellfire round, "and those mortals down there are laughing at me, I just know it." He then dropped the round in the launch tube. An instant later the round was fired with a distinct popping sound. Seconds later a high whistling sound could be heard through the valley.

* * *

"Now what?" asked Finn as he and the others looked around to find the source of the whistling, then flinched and ducked as a massive hellfire blast went off a few yards from Finn's boulder.

"Now they're using mortars?!" exclaimed Malcolm as the blast of heat, small rocks and dust cleared, "what kind of sicko's up there?!"

"One of my dad's best assassins," said Marceline, "but he's out of practice with his guns, so he's using bigger guns."

"Gee, it must be obvious day at camp stupid!" said Lumpy Space Princess. She and the others ducked as another whistling sound was heard, followed by another massive hellfire blast, this one a few feet closer to our hero's general position.

"We've gotta get out of here before he gets the range right!" said Riku.

"That's gonna be kinda tough!" said Jake as he pointed to the various groups of demons and Heartless navigating the valley to cut off our heroes from retreating.

"Well, this sucks," said Tess, "If we stay we'll be blown up. If we run, we'll have to fight our way out and still get blown up," she looked at Marceline, "I'm sure your dad won't mind blowing up some of his minions in order to get us."

"No arguing that," said Marceline, "so, what do we do?"

"If we can't run or stay, we run another way," said Malcolm, he then began gently shaking Solaris, "come on, wake up, we need your help."

"She's in no condition to fight!" said Flame Princess after our heroes ducked another mortar blast.

"She can still tell us how to get into the dungeon!" said Malcolm, "if we can get inside, we'll be under cover and have a chance to stand and fight," he shook Solaris again, "please, wake up and help us!"

Solaris groaned as she slowly regained her senses, "what…what's happening?"

"You got shot and the enemy's pelting us with bombs," said Malcolm, "we can't run away without getting caught in the open, so we need you to tell us how to get into the dungeon."

"The dungeon…" said Solaris weakly, "the way in…"

"Yes, tell us the way in!" insisted Malcolm, just as a mortar round went off right in front of the boulder Riku and Tess were hiding behind, shattering it. They quickly got behind another boulder.

"The way in…" said Solaris, "the way in…lays within," with that she passed out again.

"'The way in lays within?'" asked Cinnamon Bun.

"Great," said Flame Princess irately, "we're gonna get blown to smithereens and she leaves us with a corny riddle."

"No, it's not!" said Malcolm, "it makes perfect sense! The way in lays within!" with that he closed his eyes as he cast a nonverbal spell. Seconds later there was a flash of magic and a mine shaft opening appeared in the valley floor a few yards away.

"How'd you do that?" asked Riku.

"I used my brain, duh!" said Malcolm cheerfully.

* * *

"Where'd that come from?!" exclaimed John Careful Walker as he, Hunson Abadeer and the other Red Lectroids watched our heroes retreat into the mineshaft, narrowly escaping a mortar blast.

"I don't know and I don't care," said Hunson Abadeer grimly, "they're not getting away!" He pulled out his cellphone and called his forces in the valley, "get to that mineshaft! Bring me Solaris Pretorius and kill the others!"

* * *

"There's doors ahead!" shouted Riku as he and the others, with Jake stretching into a walking stretcher to carry Solaris, hurried down the mineshaft, approaching a large set of stone doors marked with runes. The doors swung open as our heroes reached it. They ran inside and the doors swung shut and locked.

"Okay, we're safe," sighed Tess.

"Yeah, but not for long," said Malcolm as the large room they found themselves in suddenly illuminated itself with enchanted torches. The room was roughly the size of a basketball stadium with stone benches and a raised dais in the middle.

"Either this is an ancient sports arena," said Flame Princess as our heroes looked around in confusion, "or…"

"Or someone has a strange imagination," said Riku as he looked at the unconscious Solaris.

"Don't bother asking me," said Malcolm, "she's lost too much blood and there's only so much I can do with healing items."

"Where's Kairi when you need her?" asked Tess irately, "okay, so what now?"

"What now?" asked a ghostly image of a man wearing green and orange robes, "what now indeed."

"Who the glib glob are you?" asked Jake as our heroes cautiously looked at the ghostly man.

"A mystical construct," said the ghostly man, "created by Solaris Pretorius to protect the Keyhole of Ooo, though you can call me Roy. Is Solaris Pretorius among you?"

"Yeah, but she's in no condition to talk," said Tess.

"That's a pity," said Roy worriedly as he saw Solaris's unconscious form, "Solaris made me to respond to three situations; that she would come herself, that she would bring others, or strangers would come seeking The Keyhole. If she were able to speak, she could tell me to stand down and allow access to The Keyhole. Since she is unable to do so, I have no choice but to enact the safety measures she gave me."

"What safety measures would that be?" asked Finn.

"Yeah, what are you gonna throw at us?" asked Jake, "weird monsters? Deadly traps? A weird monster that'll lure us into a deadly trap?"

"I must test you," said Roy.

"Test? Nobody said anything about a lumping test!" exclaimed Lumpy Space Princess.

"You already said that," said Flame Princess.

"I know," said Lumpy Space Princess, "but I did it again for dramatic flair."

"I knew we should have studied before we went dungeon crawling," said Malcolm.

"This isn't a test you can study for," said Roy.

"Oh great," muttered Riku, "a pop quiz!"

"You misunderstand," said Roy, "you are to be tested to prove if you are indeed worthy of access to The Keyhole. Solaris made me to distill wicked hearts from righteous hearts, to never allow a heart full of darkness access to such a dangerous thing as a Keyhole."

"That makes sense," said Finn, "so, what do we have to do to prove we're the good guys?"

"You must pass three tests of Truth, Love and Courage," said Roy, "virtues that only a heart infused with light can possess."

Just then our heroes and Roy heard a loud BANG from the door, followed by another.

"I forgot about them," said Flame Princess as she and the others realized that the enemy was trying to come in after them.

"Look, Roy," said Finn, "I know you're just doing your job, but we really don't have time to take any tests."

"So would you please show us to The Keyhole before the bad guys break in?" asked Ice King.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," said Roy, "it goes against the conditioning Solaris gave me. To access The Keyhole, you must pass my tests."

"But they're breaking the lumping door down!" exclaimed Lumpy Space Princess as our heroes heard another loud BANG.

"It'll take more than that to break through," said Roy.

"You don't know my dad," said Marceline, "he'll pull out all the stops to get inside. Just do us a favor and…"

"I cannot allow access to The Keyhole," said Roy, "not without giving and accepting completion of the tests."

"And what if we don't want to take the tests?" asked Tess, "what if we just start looking around without your help?"

"Then I'll have no choice but to see you as intruders," said Roy, "and activate the dungeon's failsafe measures, effectively destroying you."

"You can't do that!" exclaimed Riku, "you'll kill Solaris as well!"

"For all I know you've brought an impostor," said Roy, "unless I receive conformation directly from Solaris."

"Oh please," said Marceline irately as the loud BANGS occurred more frequently, "we don't have time for this! How bad could your failsafe stuff be? I'm kinda hard to kill, you know."

"We're all kinda hard to kill," said Finn as he put one hand on his sword, while the others readied themselves to fight

"I can flood the dungeon with various forms of poison gas," said Roy, "and flood it with water, acid and even quicksand. Solaris took no chances when she designed the dungeon."

"Well, I guess we're taking those tests then," said Riku, "it's only three, right?"

"Again, you misunderstand," said Roy, "not three, nine."

"Nine?!" exclaimed a flabbergast Finn, while the others all had their jaws open in disbelief, "but you said…"

"I said three tests of Truth, Love and Courage," said Roy, "three each."

"Well, dang," said Finn.

* * *

 **…Outside…**

BANG

"Oww!"

BANG

"Oww!"

"You sure he's alright?" asked John Ready to Fly as he, the other John's and Hunson Abadeer, stood in the mineshaft. Ahead of them were several muscular demons, using a large, flat-headed demon as a battering ram, while outside lay a horde of demons and Heartless, ready to pour into the dungeon.

"He's fine," said Hunson Abadeer, "aren't you, Obadiah?"

"Just peachy, Mr. Abadeer," said the flat-headed demon, Obadiah, just as the muscular demons rammed him into the doors again, "Oww!"

"We're wasting time!" snapped John Smallberries, "that door isn't coming down anytime soon, all the while the Keyblade brats and their allies are navigating the dungeon towards The Keyhole! We must stop them!"

"Well, I'm open to suggestions!" said Hunson Abadeer irately, "my daughter and her idiotic friends are trapped in there but we can't get in! Until we figure out how to get past the front door, we're all stuck."

"Can't we find the backdoor of the dungeon?" asked John Careful Walker, "don't most dungeons have an emergency exit or a secret passage back to the surface?"

"It'll take too long to find it," said John Smallberries. He then smiled deviously, "if we can't open the door, we'll just go through it."

"Don't you think we've tried?" asked Hunson Abadeer, "I've got demons who can phase through solid matter as easily as doing the doggy paddle. They just bounced off the door. It's protected by magic I've never seen before, and believe me, my alien friends, I've seen just about every bit of magic on Ooo before and after The Mushroom War."

"I wasn't thinking about using magic," said John Smallberries, "but science." He then looked at John Ready to Fly, "bring up The Oscillation Overthruster." At that the other John's all gasped in horror.

"The whatnow?" asked Hunson Abadeer.

"The Oscillation Overthruster," said John Smallberries, "a device that allows one to pass through solid matter."

"In theory," corrected John Careful Walker, "in reality, it doesn't work."

"It does work!" said John Smallberries, "We'd all still be trapped in The 8th Dimension if Emilio Lizardo hadn't invented it, and then Buckaroo Banzai invented it again!"

"Those were flukes of human science!" said John Careful Walker, "the device was, is and always will be unstable and unreasonably dangerous."

"You're still thinking with 20th Century science," said John Smallberries, "we've had a thousand years to perfect The Oscillation Overthruster, and we will use it," he then glared at his fellow Red Lectroids, "or shall I do to you what Lord John Whorfin did to John Bigbooté?"

At that the other Red Lectrodis shook their heads and went about their business.

"You sure this overdrive thingy will work?" asked Hunson Abadeer.

"If it doesn't, I'll eat my hat," said John Smallberries.

"You don't have a hat," said Hunson Abadeer.

"Then I'll buy and eat one," said John Smallberries, "but don't fret, Mr. Abadeer, victory is all but assured."

* * *

"'We've got to get down there!'" said Lady Rainicorn in Korean as she, Aiden Princess Bubblegum, Peppermint Butler, along with Rattleballs, Colonel Candy Corn and a detachment of Banana Guards, hid at the rim of the valley.

"I know, Lady," reassured Princess Bubblegum, "but we need to be smart about this." She looked over the edge at the horde of demons and Heartless, "there's a lot of them down there."

"A sneak attack is impossible," said Rattleballs, "Princess, allow me to go down and issue a challenge," the robotic warrior drew his sword, "I shall challenge their best swordsman to single combat for the lives of your friends."

"Don't be daft!" snapped Colonel Candy Corn, "they'll never accept and smash you to pieces!"

"They will accept," said Rattleballs, "Honor dictates that a challenge between warriors must be met."

"What's a bunch of demons and aliens know about honor!?" asked Colonel Candy Corn. He then looked at Princess Bubblegum, "let me take charge, Princess. I can have reinforcements here in minutes. We'll maneuver into the valley and commence a classic pincer attack."

"Whatever you're gonna do," said Peppermint Butler as he used an enchanted pair of binoculars to see and hear events on the valley floor, "do it fast, I don't like the look of that thing they're putting together."

"I don't like it either," said Princess Bubblegum as she observed through her own binoculars the Red Lectroids assembling a machine outside the mine shaft, "What do you think, Aiden? Aiden?"

"He's just sitting there," said Colonel Candy Corn as he, Princess Bubblegum, Lady Rainicorn, Rattleballs and Peppermint Butler, saw Aiden sitting in the shade of a boulder with his eyes closed.

"Get up, you coward!" snapped Colonel Candy Corn as he stomped towards Aiden, "get up! Your princess needs you!"

"No, leave him be," said Princess Bubblegum, "he's thinking."

"Correction," said Aiden as he stood up, "I have been thinking, of a plan."

* * *

… _ **Beneath Central…**_

"The fools above had no idea of the grandeur beneath their plodding feet," said Sephiroth as he, Dio Brando, Insano and The Lord of Illusions, traverse the ruined city located below the capital of The State.

"And the people of this city had no idea of the ruins beneath their footsteps," said an impatient Insano, "yes, yes all well and good. Can we get on with this? Science is a cruel mistress and I dare not keep her waiting!"

"We'll get you back to your Titan experiments soon enough, goggle-head," said The Lord of Illusions.

"Don't call me that!" snapped Insano, "you make me sound like that kid from Digimon Tamers!"

"Never heard of it," said the vile trickster, "now, where's that secret entrance? I'm sure it's around this street somewhere."

"Do you really know where you're going?" asked Dio Brando, "we've been walking around this ruined dump for hours."

"Patience is a virtue, my vampiric ally," said The Lord of Illusions.

"I don't do virtues," said Dio brando.

"Of that we agree," said The Lord of Illusions, "AH-HA! Found it!" he then pressed a hidden switch on one of the crumbling buildings, opening a large, circular hatch in the street, revealing a staircase that went further into the bowels of the planet.

"Oh, ech!" said Dio Brando as he and the others held their noses against the foul, stale air from below, "smells like something died a long time ago and is still rotting.

"And it wasn't human," said Sephiroth.

"It's not our concern, whatever it was," said The Lord of Illusions, "we have to get the final component for The Sampo. Katrina will have our heads if we don't get it."

"What exactly is this last item we're looking for?" asked Sephiroth as he and the others descended the stairs.

"And just what does Katrina hope to achieve with The Sampo?" asked Insano, "and don't bother with the old 'ultimate power' excuse, we're all sick of it, WITH SCIENCE!"

"How's that scientific?" asked The Lord of Illusions, "and as for what Katrina hopes to make with The Sampo, you'll just have to wait and see."

"I'm getting a little tired of being led around by the nose by you and Katrina," said Dio Brando irately as he pulled out one of his knives.

"I concur," said Sephiroth as he placed one hand on Masamune, "it's time for some answers."

"There's no time for that!" said The Lord of Illusions, "there's no time to be worrying about time! None of us have time to worry about time!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Dio Brando as they reached the bottom of the stairs, reaching an apparent dead end. But then the stone landing they stood on rapidly descended like a high-speed elevator.

"Finally, a break," sighed The Lord of Illusions, only to be grabbed by the throat by Dio Brando.

"Either give us some answers or you'll be down another copy!" said Dio Brando as he lifted the vile trickster up, "understand?!"

"I'M DYING!" gasped The Lord of Illusions as he struggled for breath.

"You're what?" asked a startled Dio Brando as he dropped The Lord of Illusions onto the platform floor.

"I'm dying, you idiot!" snapped The Lord of Illusions as he got back up, straightening his color-changing clothes, "at least, my original self is."

"I don't follow," said Dio Brando.

"Tell us something we don't know," said Insano, "even to an amateur it's obvious, and I am far from an amateur!"

"Indeed it is clear," said Sephiroth, "every time the original Lord of Illusions create a doppelganger of himself, it takes part of him with it."

"Yes," said The Lord of Illusions, "the real Leslie is a shriveled old man, aged and drained of life before his time, all to accomplish the work that must be accomplished across history and dimensions. At the most, my real self can create and maintain six doppelgangers at the same time, but the longer he keeps those doppelgangers going, the greater the strain of magic and life energy. It's only a matter of time before my original self gives up the ghost, so you see, gentlemen" he then glared at Dio Brando, "and not so gentle man, I and my fellow Lords of Illusions are running out of time, for when the real Leslie dies, the doppelgangers die."

Just then the elevator came to a screeching halt, knocking the four villains to the floor as a pair of doors opened.

"Well, that was rude," said Insano as the villains picked themselves up and exited the elevator, finding themselves in an enormous cavern, miles beneath the surface. The cavern was lit by bioluminescent fungus and animals, revealing a ruined city with strange architecture.

"Is this it?" asked Dio Brando, "this is where we'll find the stuff Katrina needs?"

"We'll find it or die trying," said The Lord of Illusions as he walked towards the ruined city, with the others following closely. They reached the city and were filled with unnerving disorientation by the buildings non-Euclidian geometry.

"Why do I have the feeling Great Cthulhu is about to jump out and eat us?" asked Insano nervously.

"There are no Great Old Ones or Elder Gods here," said The Lord of Illusions as he navigated the twisting streets of the city, "they're all dead or long moved on. That, gentlemen and not so gentle man," he pointed at a large temple-like structure in the apparent center of the city, "is where we'll find what we're after."

After several more twists and turns through the disorienting city, they reached the temple.

"No doubt the ones before left a plethora of booby traps," said The Lord of Illusions, "fortunately, I know how to get past them," he then summoned several Heartless and sent them ahead, with the villains following at a safe distance.

The hapless creatures triggered the traps without complaint; pitfalls, impaling spikes, razor tripwires, poison gas and acid sprays, and a wide variety of magic traps ranging from reducing victims to ashes to petrification.

"Whoever built this place had a real sick sense of humor," said Dio Brando after he and the others passed a disarmed trap that would have impaled its victim from bottom to top, "I don't know if I should like them or hate them."

"Good thing Heartless don't mind pain," said The Lord of Illusions as they made their way deeper into the temple, arriving at the inner sanctuary. There, more Heartless were attempting to reach a central altar surrounded by seven rune circles, each circle glowing with a color of the rainbow.

Several Heartless attempted to cross the circles, yet the second they breached the first circle, the red one, they were instantly vaporized

"That's what we need to get," said The Lord of Illusions as he pointed at an elaborately crafted ceramic urn on the altar.

"And what's the plan?" asked Dio Brando, "other than throwing wave after wave of Heartless at it until the protections give out."

"This is indeed old and powerful magic," said Sephiroth as he walked around the green red, "it will take time to determine how best to disarm the magic circles," he looked at The Lord of Illusions, "unfortunately."

"No need to rush," said The Lord of Illusions, "now that we're actually here, we can figure out the rest at an easy pace."

"I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN!"

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Dio Brando as he, Sephiroth, Insano and The Lord of Illusions looked around at the sudden, deep booming voice.

"I said I cannot let that happen, foul invaders!" said Alex Louis Armstrong, The Strongarm Alchemist, as he boldly strode into the inner sanctum of the temple, flanked by two other alchemists and several soldiers.

"So these are the jerks who've been giving Aiden and the others such a hard time," said one of the other alchemists. He was in his late teens with short brown hair and light brown eyes. His companion, a girl also in her late teens with shoulder-length blond hair and dark brown eyes, nodded in agreement.

"And now it's our problem, Travis," said the girl.

"Ain't it just, Kaylee," said the boy, Travis.

"Who the hell are you bozos?" asked Dio Brando.

"We are the finest examples of lawful alchemy The State has to offer," said Armstrong, "my companions, The Emerald Steel Alchemist," he nodded at Travis, then at Kaylee, "and The Sapphire Arrow Alchemist, and I and Alex Louis Armstrong, The Strong Arm Alchemist!" He then ripped off his coat and shirt, revealing his overly developed physique.

"Ugh! Put it away!" exclaimed Dio Brando as he shielded his eyes from Armstrong's glistening muscles, "it's so manly and unintentionally homoerotic!"

"Yeah, he does that sometimes," said an embarrassed Travis, while Kaylee and the soldiers looked equally uncomfortable.

"In that case," said Dio Brando as he smiled wickedly, "I'll remove the problem for all of us!"

"No! Don't let him speak!" shouted Kaylee, but was too late.

"ZA WARUDO!" shouted Dio Brando. Reality shifted colors like a photo negative for an instant as heroes and villains alike were frozen in place.

"Time has been stopped," said Dio Brando as he walked among the temporal- frozen heroes, pulling out his knives as he stood a few yards from Armstrong. "Such a splendid specimen of masculinity and machismo," he then threw a double handful of knives, the blades freezing in time mere inches from Armstrong's torso. Dio Brando then pulled out another double handful of knives and threw them at Armstrong, "I can't wait to see you reduced to a human pincushion.

But then came a flash of alchemic energy and the knives were turned to harmless dust.

"Sorry," said Al as he walked out in front of Armstrong and the others, "I can't let you do that.

"You little brat!" snapped Dio Brando, "how dare you destroy my knives!"

"I didn't destroy them," said Al, "I just changed them into something else, something far less deadly."

"He can still choke on all that dust, Al," said Ed as he walked up behind Dio Brando.

"You! You're that metal-arm brat!" said Dio Brando as he saw Ed, "wait a second, how are you two able to keep up with me? I stopped time for freaking sake!"

"That's a good question," said Ed. He looked at Al, "How come we're not stuck like Armstrong and the others?"

"I really don't understand it myself, brother," said Al, "I just had this feeling that something was going to happen, so I grabbed your arm and we weren't frozen in time. I guess it has something to do with my soul's special abilities, or maybe the fact that we're brothers we share another ability, or something."

"Doesn't matter," said Dio Brando as he pulled out a particularly long and sharp knife, "I'll still kill you. It's been a while since I've made one brother watch the other die!" He then rushed at the two young alchemists, with them jumping out of the way of the deadly blade just as time resumed its normal flow.

"What…what happened?" asked Travis as he and the others looked around, then saw Ed and Al fighting Dio Brando.

"You jerk!" snapped Insano, "warn us next time!" he pulled out a small device, "I have my own Chrono-accelerator I've been itching to try out!"

But then came a loud gunshot, followed Insano's startled yelp as the device was blasted to pieces.

"You'll do no such thing, madman!" shouted Riza Hawkeye as she, backed by Jean Havoc, Kain Fury, Valto Falman and several more soldiers aimed, her pistol at Insano.

"Well, this is turning out to be quite the party," said The Lord of Illusions nonchalantly, "wonder who else is coming?"

"Where is the general, Lt. Colonel?" asked Travis.

"Lost somewhere in this demented city," said Hawkeye, "but I think we've enough manpower to deal with these invaders."

"You fools!" snapped Insano, "do you really think your pitiful weapons and pathetic alchemy stands a chance against the demonic mind of Dr. Insano? I think not!" he then giggled like the maniac he was as he pulled out another device, one with a red button, which he pressed.

Streams of nanobots flowed out of Insano's lab coat, solidifying into a combat exo-suit armed with a flamethrower, a plasma riffle and a some kind of cannon that hummed menacingly.

"Feast your eyes on my Doom Walker Suit Mark 5!" cried Insano as he triumphantly raised the right arm of the exo-suit, "Mark 1 through 4 were totally lame, but not this one!"

"What makes this one so special?" asked Havoc as he, Fury and Falman aimed their repeating riffles at Insano, while the other soldiers aimed their riffles and a few rocket launchers.

"Aside from a flamethrower and plasma riffle," said Insano, "It has a laser-guided bee cannon!" he giggled maniaclly, "you don't _beelieve_ me?" he giggled again at his own pun, "Here! See for yourself!"

Insano aimed and fired the cannon at one group of soldiers, shooting a shell shaped like a beehive. The shell burst above the soldiers, releasing thousands of angry bees on the hapless men. Within seconds the room was filled with wrathful buzzing and agonized shouts of bee sting victims, combined with moans of "NOT THE BEES! NOT THE BEES!" and "AAAGH MY EYES!"

"What a _beeautiful_ sight!" giggled Insano, only to cry out as a blue arrow struck and exploded next to the exo-suit, damaging the bee cannon so it couldn't fire its menacing shells.

"For someone who's so smart," said Kaylee as she drew another drew another blue arrow to an alchemic-enhanced bow, "you're terrible at coming up with puns."

"Let's get him before he comes up with anything worse," said Travis as he readied a green war hammer enhanced alchemy.

"Bring it, you derisible juveniles!" shouted Insano. He then charged his exo-suit at Kaylee and Travis, blasting them with plasma shots and flame bursts, while they easily dodged the deadly energy attacks and looked for an opening to disable the lunatic's mecha.

"You're all alone now, trickster," said Hawkeye to The Lord of Illusions.

"I think not," said The Lord of Illusions, "Sephiroth! Bring _bee_ her head and eviscerate the others!" He then frowned irately, "oh great! Now I'm making bee puns!"

"Your friend's otherwise occupied," said Hawkeye as she pointed at Sephiroth, whom was engaged in a furious duel with Amrstrong; the One-Winged Angel attempting to impale the Strongarm Alchemist with _Masamune_ , while Armstrong blocked and punched with his alchemy gauntlets.

"Well, this is definitely not going as well as I hoped," said The Lord of Illusions as he saw the battles; Ed & Al vs. Dio Brando, Travis & Kaylee vs. Insano and Armstrong vs. Sephiroth, were all at impasses.

"It's about to get worse," said Hawkeye, "Fury! Falman! Havoc! Arrest that man in the name of The State and all things under The Light!"

"Just come quietly and nobody else has to get hurt," said Fury as he produced a pair of handcuffs, while Falman and Havoc approached The Lord of Illusions.

"Good luck with that, kidos," grinned the vile trickster as Havoc and Falman grabbed his arms, but then the arms came off and turned into poisonous snakes that writhed wrathfully in the soldier's hands, earning cries of terror from them as they dropped the snakes and backed off.

"It's not real!" said Hawkeye as the snakes vanished, "just an illusion!"

"Couldn't have said it _beetter_ myself!" said The Lord of Illusions as he appeared behind one solder. "Damn it! What's with the bee puns!?"

"Get him!" shouted another as he aimed his riffle and fired. The bullet passed through the trickster, just as he appeared behind the hapless soldier and stabbed him in the back before vanishing again to attack an kill another soldier.

"Don't let his parlor tricks fool you!" shouted Hawkeye as she aimed her pistol around the area, "he's just a man!"

"My dear," said The Lord of Illusions nonchalantly after stabbing another solder, "I've been playing tricks on the multi-verse long before your ancestors were glints in their parent's eyes." He then slashed another soldier's throat. The dying soldier stumbled about, clutching his bleeding neck and walking into the red circle around the altar.

Blood splashed onto the runes and the circle glowed brightly. Energy crackled as red tendrils of magic rose up from the circle and caught the soldier, raising him up and within seconds, tore him to pieces. The tendrils vanished as the bloody remains fell to the floor, while the red runes dimmed and also vanished.

"Of course!" said The Lord of Illusions triumphantly, "a blood sacrifice is required for each circle!" He then grabbed another soldier, slashed his throat and shoved him into the orange circle. Blood fell onto the runes and orange tendrils of magic tore the soldier apart.

"No!" shouted Ed as he saw the vile trickster grab a third soldier for sacrifice. He then barely dodged a knife thrown by Dio Brando.

"Pay attention kido!" snapped Dio Brando as he threw more knives at Ed, "I don't want to win too easily!"

"You'll find we're not so easy to _beeat_!" said Al. He then indicated the soldiers hit by the beehive shell. Though covered in sting welts and looking thoroughly sore and miserable, the soldiers were still able to fight.

"They shouldn't be able to do that!" said Dio Brando. He then saw a stray bee land on his shoulder and realized it was a regular honeybee, "these were supposed to be deadly Tracker Jackers! Insano!"

"I'm a little busy right now, thank you very much!" snapped Insano as he struggled to keep his damaged exo-suit standing. Between Kaylee's arrows and Travis's hammer, the madman's mecha could barely keep its footing.

Travis then struck the machine in the leg, just as Kaylee fired an arrow into some exposed circuitry, dealing enough damage to knock the suit to the ground, trapping Insano in a twisted metal wreck.

"I'm gonna rip those goggles off and make you eat them, you psycho!" shouted Travis.

"No! Not my goggles!" exclaimed the trapped Insano, "they were really expensive! Sephiroth! Get me out of here!"

"He's a little busy right now," said Al as he saw Sephiroth and Armstrong still engaged in their duel.

"Looks like you're out of luck," said Ed to Dio Brando.

"Oh shut up, shorty!" snapped Dio Brando.

"Oh, you shouldn't have done that," said Al as he saw Ed getting ready to unleash an explosive rant and a furious beating on Dio Brando. But something broke Ed's concentration, something that turned out to be Winry Rockbell, at the entrance to the inner sanctum, throwing and hitting Dio Brando on the head with a large wrench.

"Don't call him small, you jerk!" shouted Winry as she pulled out another wrench.

"Winry! Get out of here!" shouted Ed.

"Oh, is this your girlfriend?" asked Dio Brando as he smiled viciously while feeling a slight bruise on his head, "let's have some fun. ZA WARUDO!"

Time froze for everyone save Dio Brando and the two brothers. Before either Ed or Al could stop him, Dio Brando ran over to and grabbed Winry, resuming time as he ensnared her with one arm and held a knife to her throat.

"WINRY!" shouted both Ed and Al.

"ED! AL!" shouted Winwry, whom then gasped as Dio Brando pressed the knife harder to her throat, drawing a few drops of blood.

"Ah, young virgin blood," said Dio Brando lustfully as he pulled the knife away to lick the blood, "so satisfying, yet tantalizing to want even more!"

"Let her go, you monster!" shouted Hawkeye as she and the remaining soldiers aimed their weapons at Dio Brando.

"I'll slice her ear-to-ear before you can pull those triggers," said Dio Brando, "or perhaps I'll simply take a drink," he smiled wider as his teeth morphed into vampire fangs, "she'll either die instantly or become a vampire thrall. Either way, she's good as dead, unless you all cease this futile and annoying resistance. How's it going, Leslie?"

"I'm almost done," said The Lord of Illusions. By now six of the seven magic circles had been satisfied with sacrificed soldiers Only the violet circle remained between the vile trickster and the urn on the altar.

"We won't let you have that urn!" shouted Hawkeye.

"Then the girl dies," said The Lord of Illusions, "hey, Dio, bring her over here! She can _bee_ the last sacrifice!"

"I'll rip your soul out and beat you to death with it first!" shouted Al.

"I'll just beat you to death!" said Ed as he cracked his knuckles, both bone and metal.

At that the vile trickster smiled with wicked glee, "oh, I just had the best idea ever. I offer you this proposal, Brothers Elric! One of you for the girl!"

"What? No! NO! We won't do it!" shouted Al, "won't we, brother?! Brother?" he looked at Ed, whom had a troubled look of contemplation on his face.

"Don't tell me you're thinking about it, Edward?" asked Hawkeye, "you're not thinking about playing his sick game?"

"Why wouldn't he?" asked Dio Brando, "he's got no other way out. I'll kill the girl before anyone tries to rescue her."

"Don't underestimate my friends, you jerk!" said Winry, "Ed and Al would never sacrifice each other, not even for me!"

"Who said one would sacrifice the other?" asked The Lord of Illusions, "young Edward here is thinking of sacrificing himself, he's done it before. Oh yes, I know how, when young Edward sacrificed his arm and leg to save Alphonse's soul, when Alphonse had his armored body inadvertently turned into a Philosopher's Stone and Alphonse sacrificed his body and soul to restore Edward's lost arm and leg, then how Edward sacrificed his arm and leg again to restore Alphonse in body and soul. You brothers do love to martyr yourselves for your loved ones. After all, it was love that drove you to forbidden alchemy in the first place."

"You leave our mother out of this, you fiend!" shouted Al, but then Ed walked towards the last circle.

"ED! NO!" shouted Winry.

"I love you, Winry," said Ed as he approached The Lord of Illusions, "I'd die for you."

"Aww, that's so sweet and pathetic," said Dio Branto, "I may actually vomit, it's so disgusting."

"Don't you say that about him!" said Winry furiously.

"Oh yeah?" asked Dio Brando daringly, "and what are you going do to about it? You're just a scared little girl who likes to play with machines."

"I fix machines!" said Winry, "and I also invent them!" she then pulled out a device from her pocket and slammed it against Dio Brando's left hand.

"What the…?!" said Dio Brando, startled enough to loosen his grip on Winry, whom then slammed the device against his neck, further startling him into releasing Winry. She then dashed towards Ed, whom was dashing back towards Al.

"You little bitch!" shouted Dio Brando as he felt his hand, "what did you do to me?!" he then saw white sticker with red markings on the back of his hand where the device touched him, "what the hell is this?!" he then tried to pull it off but it wouldn't budge, "and why won't it come off?!"

"What did you do, Winry?" asked Al.

"I used my new sticker applicator," said Winry as she held up the device, "and the glue on it is a new synthetic. It's not gonna come off any time soon."

"You really think some pathetic stickers will stop me?!" exclaimed Dio Brando, "I'm gonna rip your head off, little girl! ZA…!"

Everyone then heard a loud finger snap, followed by a massive explosion that destroyed Dio Brando's left hand halfway up to his elbow.

"General Mustang!" exclaimed Fury, Havoc and Falton.

"You're late, sir," said Haweye as Roy Mustang walked into the inner sanctum.

"Sorry, Lt. Colonel," said Mustang, "this crazy city is just that, crazy."

"You bastard!" snapped Dio Brando as he clutched his mangled left arm with his right hand, you'll pay for that!"

"Please, put it on my bill," said Mustang.

But then Dio Brando saw his arm beginning to regenerate, "oh, I'm gonna drive you so into debt, you're descendants will be paying the interest off!"

"I don't think so," said Winry as Mustang held up his gun-cotton gloved hand, "I gave you two stickers, remember?"

It was at that moment, as Dio Brando flung his hand to the sticker on his neck, he knew, he fucked up.

Mustang snapped his fingers, creating red alchemic sparks. An instant later, the second sticker exploded with much greater force than the second.

"Dang, Ed," said Winry, "What'd you do to that one?"

"I used the same alchemy formula as the others," said Ed, "guess his neck just blows up better."

The blast then cleared, revealing Do Brando's mangled lower torso and scorched bits of his upper torso on the floor.

"You insensitive prick!" echoed Dio Brando's voice through the chamber, "do you realize how long it'll take me to grow my body back?!"

"His head! It's still alive!" shouted Havoc as he pointed at Dio Brando's severed head on the floor a few yards away.

"Huh, isn't that something," said Sephiroth. The fight between him and Armstrong had long since paused. Now the One-Winged Angel and Strongarm Alchemist both stared at Dio Brando's severed head.

"Oh for crying our loud!" groaned an annoyed Lord of Illusions, "if you want something done right, do it yourself!" he then slashed his palm and smeared blood on the last circle of runes. Violet tendrils of magic rose up and grabbed the vile trickster.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed Insano as he finally extracted himself from his wrecked exo-suit.

"GET THE URN TO KATRINA!" shouted the sacrificed doppelganger as the tendrils began to rip him apart.

"We'll finish our duel later, Strongarm Alchemist," said Sephiroth, "but for now," he then touched Armstrong's chest, "Local Sin Harvest!"

Armstrong cried out in agony as his strength and life force was all but obliterated by the insidious spell. Before anyone could react, Sephiroth dashed for the altar, just as the last circle vanished. He grabbed the urn and summoned a Dark Corridor.

"Hey! Don't leave me like this!" shouted Dio Brando's still-living head. "Insano! Help me!"

"Why?" asked Insano as he dashed into the Dark Corridor, which closed up after him.

"DAMN IT!" exclaimed Ed as he slammed his Automail on the ground in outraged frustration, "they got away with it! Alegra told us not to let them get it and they got it!"

"And a lot of good people died because of it," said Al depressingly as he looked at the soldiers lost in the battle, both from combat and those viciously sacrificed.

"It wasn't a total loss," said Winry as she, Havoc, Fury and Falton helped Armstrong back up, "that thing's still here."

"Uh…let's not be too hasty, everyone," said Dio Brando's head nervously as Hawkeye walked over and picked it up by the hair, "I mean…I was only kidding about killing the girl. I wouldn't have made her my vampire love slave, honestly!"

"You were gonna make me your vampire whore?!" exclaimed Winry, "Shoot it! Hawkeye, shoot it! Please!"

"No," said Mustang, "don't destroy it, Hawkeye, we may need it."

"That's right, we might need it," said Ed, "it knows a lot about the enemy and where they're hiding. I'm sure Aiden and the others would love to know where Castle Oblivion is."

"I won't talk!" said Dio Brando's head stubbornly.

"You'll talk," said Mustang, "I guarantee it. Besides, I'm sure there's a lot of alchemist in R&D who'd love to experiment on a biological abomination such as you."

Once again, it was at that moment Dio Brando knew, he fucked up.

* * *

… _ **Castle Oblivion…**_

"You actually left his head?" asked Regina after Insano and Sephiroth arrived back and described the battle.

"What difference would it have made if I did?" asked Insano, "his body was no good and I doubt any of us has the time, energy, patience or stomach to grow him a new one."

"You should have at least stayed long enough o finish the poor bastard off," said Young Xehanort, "Dio Brando may be just a head now, but a head full of knowledge nonetheless."

"Just how long do you think he'll last before he tells our enemies exactly what they need to know to defeat us?" asked Regina.

"Oh, I didn't think about that," said Insano, "shall I go back and finish him off?"

"There's no time," said another doppelganger of The Lord of Illusions, "we've got to get the urn to Katrina."

"Just what is so important about this urn?" asked Sephiroth as he and the others hurried to the main chamber of the castle.

"You'll see and won't be disappointed," said The Lord of Illusions. They reached the room and found Katrina waiting.

"Is that it?!" exclaimed Katrina as she stood up and hurried over, "give it to me! Now!"

"Here it is," said The Lord of Illusions as Katrina took the urn from Sephiroth, "The Shining Sand."

"Sand? SAND!?" exclaimed Insano as Katrina opened the urn, revealing white, glowing sand within, "we risked our necks for a bucket of sand!?"

"I feel strangely disappointed," said Sephiroth.

"You unimaginative fools!" said Katrina, "this sand is exactly what I need to get what I want out of The Sampo! Now, all that's left is the master craftsman to make The Sampo!" she looked at The Lord of Illusions, "how's that coming?"

"One of my other selves should be back soon with the guy," said the vile trickster. The villains then heard the door at the other end of the room, opening, "that could be him with the package right now."

Instead of another doppelganger, in walked The Lich.

"Oh, it's just you," said The Lord of Illusions, "no matter, my other self shouldn't be much longer."

"Just where have you been?" Regina asked The Lich.

"Visiting the other worlds of this universe," said The Lich, "exploring my host's memories and emotions, and finding fault with them all."

"Is that all you've been doing?" asked Young Xehanort, "taking a walkabout with Sora's experiences?"

"Oh, I did so much more," said The Lich, "I left a few things on the worlds I visited, and don't ask what, it's a surprise."

"There's a time and a place for surprises," said Regina, "and it shouldn't be a surprise that I don't trust you. I want to know what you're up to. What's your goal in all of this?"

"All in good time," said The Lich as he walked out of the room, "all in good time."

* * *

… **Radiant Garden…**

"Kairi! Kairi! Wake up!"

Kairi woke with a start on a chair in the castle library. After what seemed like hours of sitting through pointless shouting and arguments from her friends and allies, Kairi needed a break to clear her head and rest her mind with a good book. However, the toll of all the days rigors and stresses had caught up with her and she fell asleep, that is, until Yuffie shook her away.

"Oh, I guess I fell asleep," said Kairi as she rubbed her eyes, "what is it now, Yuffie? Is everyone shouting at each other over that creature possessing Sora.

"They're shouting alright," said Yuffie, "but not about Sora."

"Good grief!" groaned Kairi, "What now?"

"It's Cid," said Yuffie gravely, "he's been kidnapped by The Lord of Illusions!"

"I knew I should have gone to bed and locked the door," said Kairi mutely as the weight of this latest crisis hit her shoulders.

* * *

… **Castle Oblivion…**

"Ah! Here he is!" said The Lord of Illusions as another doppelganger walked in, followed by a Large Body carrying a large, squirming carpet bag. The lumbering Heartless dropped the bag in the center of the room and the doppelganger opened it with a flourish of fireworks, steamers and confetti.

Inside the bag squatted a tied and gagged Cid, glaring irately at both Lords of Illusions.

"Well, well, well," said Katrina with malicious glee, "welcome, Cid, we've been expecting you, for you have a grand task ahead; you are to be the one to create The Sampo for me."

 **The End of Chapter 4.**

 _Next chapter finds Cid in dire straights as Katrina forces him to forge The Sampo, while Riku and the others in Ooo struggle to overcome the dungeon in time to save Ooo's Keyhole. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	6. Chapter 5: Tests and Tribulations

_Last time found our heroes in Ooo following Solaris Pretorius to the dungeon she set up to protect Ooo's Keyhole. Yet as they reached the location of the dungeon, they were ambushed by Hunson Abadeer and The Red Lectroids, during which Solaris was wounded and knocked unconscious. Our heroes managed to get into the dungeon, forcing the enemy outside to attempt to break in. Yet our hero's temporary safety was left in doubt as the guardian construct of the dungeon revealed that to access Ooo's Keyhole, they must past some tests._

 _Meanwhile, The Lord of Illusions and his fellow cohorts in evil infiltrated Central to access an ancient ruined city buried beneath the modern capital of The State, all to take the final item needed for The Sampo. Ed and Al lead a valiant effort to stop the vicious villains, resulting in Dio Brando losing his head, literally. Yet their efforts were in vain as the enemy brought the final item, Shining Sand, back to Katrina, just as she acquired the one person in all the realms she needs to create The Sampo. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 5: Tests and Tribulations**

… _ **Castle Oblivion…**_

"Lady," said Cid as he glared irately at Katrina, "whatever it is you want me to do, I won't do it!"

"You will do what I want, old man!" said Katrina, "you have to! You're the only one skilled enough in the entire Realm of Lights to assemble The Sampo for me."

"So you'd better get to it, old man," said The Lord of Illusions, "or else."

"Or else what?" asked Cid, "you'll torture me? Go ahead, do your worse!"

"Oh, I can think of some pretty nasty tortures to try," said Regina, "and how best to keep you alive. You'll be begging to die, but I won't let you."

"Physical torture won't accomplish anything," said Young Xehanort, "we need to break his spirit, his will to resist."

"Ah, psychological torture," said Insano, "a few sessions of the Ludovico Treatment and he'll be begging to get to work on The Sampo."

"That'll take too long!" said The Lord of Illusions, "just how long do you think Kairi and hers will wait before they try some sort of rescue?"

"They still have no idea where Castle Oblivion is," said Young Xehanort, "nor will they, I've seen to it."

"Nevertheless," said The Lord of Illusions, "Katrina does not have the patience for brainwashing."

"Then perhaps a subtler form of psychological persuasion is required," said Young Xehanort, "a few mental geass and…"

"No, no, no!" said Regina, "That won't do at all, you'll risk damaging his mind."

"Hey, I'm still here, you know," said Cid irately.

"Shut up!" snapped Regina, "we haven't forgotten about you," she sighed with impatient disgust, "why did that fool Tremaine have to get herself killed? She'd break his spirit in a heartbeat."

"No form of torture will work," said Katrina as she sat down, "not on the master craftsman. The forging of The Sampo must be a task taken up of one's own free will. No, forcing Cid to the deed won't do at all, not if his own wellbeing is at stake."

"That's it!" said Regina triumphantly, "if Cid won't do it to save his life, he'll do it to save another."

"What are you talking about?" asked Cid, though there was a hint of nervousness in his defiance, "I'd rather die than build anything for you creeps!"

"Oh, we won't kill you," said Regina, "but we will kill someone else, someone you love perhaps? Leslie? Be a dear and go kidnap one of Cid's friends, would you?"

"That could be rather tricky," said the doppelganger who brought Cid, "I was lucky to find Cid alone while the majority of Kairi's friends and allies were in conference. No doubt Radiant Garden's forces will be on high alert. Even a confidence man of my caliber will be hard pressed to infiltrate and return with a hostage, not without a very, very good plan that is."

"There's no time for a plan!" said the other doppelganger of the trickster, "Katrina's patience grows thin!"

"I'm still here, you know," said Katrina irately, "don't put words in my mouth, Leslie, or else you'll be another doppelganger short!"

"Well, then," said The Lord of Illusions nervously, "perhaps a…"

"That won't work," said the other doppelganger.

"Then maybe we could try…"

"They'll be expecting that.

"Okay, then how about…"

"They'll expect that too."

"Oh, this is pointless!" snapped Regina irately, "I'll go get a hostage!"

"And just how will you do it?" asked one of the doppelgangers, "disguise yourself as an old crone and offer a poisoned apple?"

"That…that's not…I don't do that anymore," said Regina in a flustered tone, "I've learned my lesson."

"Well, I'm open to suggestions," said the other Lord of Illusions.

"I shall retrieve a hostage," said The Lich as it stood nearby, startling the assembled villains.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked Regina.

"Long enough," said The Lich as it summoned a Dark Corridor.

"Now wait just a moment here!" said The Lord of Illusions, "just what are you going to do?"

"What I said I would do," said The Lich, "retrieve a hostage." With that it stepped through the Dark Corridor.

"That guy creeps me out," said The Lord of Illusions as the Dark Corridor closed up.

"I fear no man," said Sephiroth, "but I must admit, that thing, it makes me rather uncomfortable."

"I simply don't trust it," said Regina, "that thing driving Sora, it has its own agenda that could spell doom for us all, I just feel it."

"Well, whatever that thing's true agenda, it's more likely walking into a trap on Radiant Garden," said the other Lord of Illusions.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

Kairi slumped in her chair at the head of the table, her hands on her ears in a vain attempt to block out the chaotic cacophony of her friends, advisors and allies shouting. Only a short time had occurred since word spread of Cid's abduction and already things were falling apart, at least to Kairi's despairing point of view.

But then, Kairi wasn't one to give up so easily, not without a reasonable amount of time of feeling sorry for herself. Pulling herself out of her misery, Kairi, her face set with determination, stood up, grabbed her chair and, displaying an incredible feat of strength, smashed it to splinters on the table with a near-deafening crash.

This sudden noise and random act from Kairi stunned everyone out of their unruly shouting match.

"Good, I've got everyone's attention now," said Kairi while two servants hastily brought in another chair. "Yes, Cid's been kidnapped, and how did that happen? Because he wanted some alone time in his workshop; he was sick of listening to you all acting like kindergarteners with too much sugar! Don't start, Yuffie! You and everyone else in this room has done nothing but yell at each other without actually saying anything constructive!"

"I was just going to say..." started Yuffie.

"I don't want to hear it!" said Kairi, "I know things are bad and keep getting worse. Everything we think things have hit rock bottom, the bar keeps going down, and what do we do about it? We either mope around feeling sorry for ourselves, or lose our heads and shout nonsense.

"Well, I'm done feeling sorry for myself, and I want to believe that you're all done shouting nonsense. I'm done being one step behind the enemy while the enemy keeps getting stronger. It's time we did something. Ansem! I want you to use that Interocitor machine of yours to find Castle Oblivion! It's time we went on the offensive!"

"With all due respect, your grace," said Ansem, "I have been trying to locate Castle Oblivion with The Interocitor, yet…"

"Then try harder," said Kairi, "I know what I'm asking; I know The Realms of Light is a big place, and there's way more possible dimensions out there than there are named numbers. But the enemy's out there somewhere and we're going to find them. We will find them and stop this madness before it gets any worse!

"Now, Quistis, any word from SeeD HQ?"

"My friends back home are still trying to get the higher ups to change their mind," said Quistis, "no dice so far, but there's plenty of operatives willing to defy orders and come help. I just have to send the word and they'll be here."

"Let's keep that iron in the fire," said Kairi, "the last thing we need is SeeD sending its people here to quell a mutiny. Now, what about the AT units? How's that going?"

"Production of the Armor Trooper units is in full swing, your majesty," said Professor von Drake, "I mean, it will be," he then glared at Scrooge McDuck, "as soon as this miserly mallard makes that deal of his!"

"I told you already that a deal of this magnitude takes time!" said Scrooge. He then looked at Kairi apologetically, "I'm sorry, your grace, I meant to tell you; I've made contact with a Jijirium dealer who'll sell us all we need, but he insists on haggling over every detail of the trade."

"I'm sure you'll be able to negotiate a fair deal," said Kairi.

"We still have a shortage of trained AT pilots," said Leon, "plenty of volunteers but they all need to be trained, and we only have so many working units to teach them with."

"And only a few simulators," said Quistis, "I'm sorry, your grace, we're doing our best, but…"

"But nothing," said King Mickey as he walked into the room, at which everyone bowed, while The King and Kairi nodded at each other, "you're all doing your best and no one can fault you for that. Now, let's all sit back down and talk like reasonable people."

Just then everyone heard a horrified scream outside the room.

Kairi and The King rushed out into the corridor to find Selphie, her nunchucks out and ready but in shaking hands, while protecting a terrified Aerith from The Lich as it emerged from a Dark Corridor.

"Keep back, Sora!" shouted Selphie, "I don't want to hurt you!"

"That's not Sora!" said Kairi as she and The King summoned their Keyblades, while Leon, Quistis and the others stumbled and tripped over each other as they tried to get into the corridor all at once.

"Of that we agree," said The Lich.

"Then what are you?" asked The King.

"I am that which awaits all at the end," said The Lich, "I am the bringer of death and decay. I am that which seeks to destroy life wherever it may be. I am…"

"A real son of a bitch, that's what!" said Yuffie as she struggled past the others, "get out of my friend, you freaking parasite!"

"That's right!" said Hayner as he, Pence and Olette pushed themselves forward and readied their weapons, "you'd better leave Sora's body!"

"Or else we'll lay down such a beating," said Olette, "you'll be feeling it tomorrow _and_ yesterday!"

"Darn right!" said Pence.

"You cannot harm me," said The Lich, "only my host will feel pain. I doubt you wish to cause any harm to your friend."

"Uh…not really," said Pence as he and the others realized that they would hurt Sora instead of the vile entity controlling him.

But then Wakka ran forward and threw his Blitz Ball, hitting The Lich in the nose and knocking the foul necromancer down.

"That's for all the times you kicked my tail on the beach back home, Sora!" said Wakka as he caught his Blitz Ball, and readied another throw.

"Yeah, let's get him!" said Tidus as he readied his sword, "now's our chance to wail on Sora!"

"We'll say sorry later!" said Selphie, "it's that thing inside him we're after!" with that she, Tidus and Wakka ran up to and began beating The Lich with their weapons.

"Wait! Stop it!" shouted Kairi, "that's not how you exorcise a possessing entity!"

"Who cares?!" shouted Tidus, "this is our one chance to make Sora pay for all the times he humiliated us on the beach!"

"We'll force that thing out of him!" said Selphie.

"FALL!" shoutedThe Lich as it shielded itself from the repeated blows.

Unable to stop themselves Tidus, Wakka and Selphie all collapsed to the floor as their strength left their bodies.

"All of you," said The Lich as it picked itself up and glared at the rest of our heroes, "Fall."

Like Tidus, Selphie and Wakka, Leon and the others collapsed to the ground. But Kairi and King Mickey, weakened slightly by The Lich's psychic attack, remained standing.

"You are able to resist," said The Lich, "impressive."

"We were ready for your mind magic this time," said The King as he and Kairi stood ready to fight, "I'll ask you just once; leave Sora's body and never come back!"

"I'm afraid I cannot do that," said The Lich, "I need this body to complete my task."

"And what is that task?" asked Kairi nervously.

"To summarize; to end life wherever I find it," said The Lich.

"I can't let you do that!" said The King.

"Neither will I!" said Kairi. With that she and King Mickey rushed at The Lich, whom summoned its corrupted Keyblade and met the two with a furious flash of Keyblade strikes. Yet despite having Sora's skills and knowing Kairi's moves and strategies, The Lich didn't know everything King Mickey knew and was soon put on the defense.

The King had The Lich distracted enough that Kairi was able to flank the foul Necromancer and bring her Keyblade down hard on Sora's possessed right arm, breaking it with an audible snap.

The Lich ignored whatever agony its host suffered, instead staring dumbfounded at Kairi, "you would damage your love so recklessly?"

"I'll hate myself and apologize later," said Kairi grimly, "But if the worse comes, if there's no other choice but to kill Sora, I'll do it in order to defeat you!"

"Sora would want it that way!" said The King, "he'd gladly give up his life to protect the lives of others, especially from a monster like you!"

"I am so much more than a monster," said The Lich as its eyes glowed with insidious green fire, "let me show you just how beyond monstrous I am!"

To the horror of The King and Kairi, The Lich changed Sora's head, sprouting a pair of horns and morphing Sora's face into a gaunt, skeletal countance with large, decaying teeth. A noxious black gas shot out from the creature's mouth and forced itself into the lungs of Kairi and The Ling, draining them of stamina and sapping their life energy. They both fell to the floor, completely helpless.

"You've proven yourselves worthy opponents," said The Lich as it restored Sora's face and regenerated the broken arm, "almost as worthy as another I know, but I said before, I am beyond strength, beyond will, beyond life. I am the end," it then reached out its hand to touch and steal Kairi's life, "and your end is here!"

But then The Lich reared back and clutched its head as a flood of Sora's memories showed themselves before its consciousness. The Lich writhed in agony as it saw Sora meeting Kairi for the first time, Sora and Kairi drawing on the cave walls, Sora racing Riku while Kairi watched, Sora reunited with Kairi on Hollow Bastion, then again on The World That Never Was and again on the shores of Destiny Islands.

And more memories appeared; Sora and Kairi's first kiss, Sora fighting Kairi's fears to save her from Maleficent's curse, their impromptu hand fasting and unofficial wedding by Alegra, and so many other memories of the two together.

"ENOGUH!" shouted The Lich as it forced Sora's memories away from its mind. It looked around, glaring at Kairi in disgust as it reached out to touch her. But it held back, deciding it was not worth risking Sora's memories resurfacing again.

"Enjoy this slight respite," said The Lich, "for death will come for you, if not by my hand then by another."

The Lich then walked towards Selphie, "Rise," it said. Selphie, unable to resist, did as commanded and stood up.

"Rise!" said The Lich again, this time at Aerith and Yuffie. Their will suppressed, Yuffie and Aerith stood with Selphie.

"Follow," said The Lich as it summoned a Dark Corridor. Helpless, the three girls followed The Lich through the Dark Corridor, which closed after them.

With the departure of the foul necromancer, our heroes found themselves able to move again.

"Well, that sucked," said Hayner as he, Pence and Olette got back up, then helped Leon and the others too.

"It more than sucks," said Wakka, "it's over."

"That thing's too powerful," said Tidus, "we can't stop it."

"We have to, damn it!" snapped Leon.

"Oh, wake up already, Squall," said a depressed Quistis, "that thing took Selphie and the other two and there wasn't a damn thing we could do to stop it! Face facts, Sora's gone and that creature's in control."

"No," said Kairi weakly as several servants and medics helped her and The King sit up, "he's not gone. Sora's still in there, somewhere. If he wasn't, I'd be dead."

"Sora somehow stayed the creature's hand," said The King, "which means we can still save him somehow."

"Well, we're open to suggestions," said Quistis, "because if that thing or any of the enemy were to attack now, we wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance."

"Somehow I think the enemy has other things to worry about," said Leon.

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"Your hostages," said The Lich as it presented Selphie, Yuffie and Aerith before Katrina and the other villains.

"Well, isn't this interesting," said Sephiroth as he walked around the helpless Aerith, whom couldn't even glare at the man who murdered her in so many timelines yet only wounded her in this one.

"You monster!" shouted Cid as he tried to rush at The Lich yet was restrained by a pair of summoned Nova Shadows, "you let them go! You let them go or I'll…"

"You'll do no such thing," said Katrina. She then looked at The Lich with pleased eyes, "thank you so much. I'll be sure to reward you substantially."

"I seek no reward," said The Lich, "only the freedom to resume my work."

"Very well, carry on," said Katrina, "go on about your business, we won't bother you unless it's something important."

"Now wait a minute!" said Regina as The Lich left the room, "you're not even gonna ask him what his work is?"

"So long as I get what I want, that creature can do as it pleases," said Katrina. She then looked at Selphie, Aerith and Yuffie who, free from the controlling influence of The Lich, stood together in a mix of defiant courage and understandable fear.

"So, what am I to do with you three?" asked Katrina as she grinned maliciously at the three girls, then looked at Cid, "what do I have to do to them to make you cooperate?"

"Whatever they want you to do, Cid, don't do it!" shouted Yuffie.

"Don't worry about us!" said Selphie, "we can handle ourselves! Just don't let them break you!"

"Yes, no matter what, they must not win," said Aerith.

"Oh, is that a fact?" asked Regina daringly as she walked around the three girls, "have I told you all about the time one of my alternate selves from another universe came to visit me while I was recovering in the hospital? Yes, this Evil Queen was seeking advice for how to deal with her version of Snow White, whom was quite the stubborn troublemaker, unlike the pathetic damsel in distress I had to deal with.

"Anyway, seeing me in my decrepit and crippled state discouraged my other self from seeking help. She realized that if she were to defeat Snow White, it'd have to be on her terms with her own strength. She left me alone, but not before telling me of one of her favorite means of making people suffer."

Before anyone could react, Regina plunged her hand into Aerith's chest and pulled out a crystal heart, earning a cry of agony from Aerith and screams of surprise from Yuffie and Selphie.

"Is that…her heart?" asked Young Xehanort.

"Yes," said Regina in a slightly disgusted tone as she held up the crystal heart, "and believe me, I'd rather not use this technique again, it's not nearly as satisfying as my other self bragged about, and rather unsanitary when you think about it. But in this case, any discomfort on my behalf is worth it."

Regina then looked at the three terrified girls, "oh don't worry, she won't become a Heartless, she's still connected to her heart. Here, let me show you," she brought the crystal heart to her lips, "hit your friends."

Unable to resist, Aerith slapped Selphie and Yuffie.

"Now pick up the knife," said Regina as she summoned a carving knife with her free hand.

"I'm sorry," cried Aerith as she bet down to pick up the knife, while more Nova Shadows restrained Yuffie and Selphie, "I have to!"

"Stop it!" shouted Cid.

"Why should I?" asked Regina, "I'm just getting started. Now," she then spoke into the crystal heart, "take the knife and start cutting."

"Aerith, stop it!" said Selphie as Aerith helplessly walked towards her, "you can beat her!"

"Fight back!" said Yuffie, "you're stronger than that witch! Fight back!"

"I'm sorry," said Arith as tears of emotional anguish fell from her eyes, "I have to," she then slashed Yuffie across the face, then cut Selphie on her arms.

"Now cut yourself," said Regina into the crystal heart, forcing Aerith to cut her arms, then her legs.

"NO! STOP IT!" shouted Cid, "Please stop it, I'm begging you!"

"I think you've made your point, Regina," said Young Xehanort.

"Then you'll do it?" Katrina asked Cid, "you'll forge The Sampo?"

"Yes, I'll do it," said Cid, "just…just stop hurting them."

"Only a matter of time," said Regina as she summoned an elaborately carved wooden box and placed the crystal heart into it, "I'll just hold onto this."

Before Cid could protest, Regina reached into and pulled out the crystal hearts of Yuffie and Selphie, "and these too," she summoned two more boxes and placed the hearts in them, "just in case you decide to try anything foolish."

"He'd better not," said Katrina as the Nova Shadows dragged Yuffie, Selphie and Aerith out of the room, "I've come too far to allow any mistakes on anyone's behalf!" she looked at The Lord of Illusions, "deliver the craftsman to his new workshop and instruct him on his task! The Sampo must be mine!"

"It shall be done," said The Lord of Illusions as he grabbed and dragged a broken-hearted Cid out of the room, "come on, big guy, you've got work to do."

"Yeah, whatever," said Cid morosely as they left the room, just as Darklight walked in through another door.

"Ah, I feel so much better," said Darklight as she stretcher arms in the air, "so, what'd I miss?"

"A lot," said Insano, "now, if you'll all excuse me, I must return to my Titan experiments. Those three children with Titan power are much more cooperative now but are becoming impatient." With that he walked out of the room.

"Freaking nerd," said Darklight, "I don't need him."

"Oh, so you're to resume your assault on The Realms of Light?" asked Katrina.

"Just waiting to select the next Keyhole to crack open," said Darklight as the dartboard of The Realms appeared. Darklight summoned a dart and threw it at the board, the projectile hitting a world.

"Oh, that world," said Darklight, "not much of a challenge, but I'll do it anyway."

* * *

 **…The Land of Ooo…**

"Well, this has been…interesting," said Roy the guardian construct in a somewhat unnerved tone. The magical entity had just finished delivering the three tests of courage to our heroes, forcing Marceline, Malcolm and Finn to confront their worst fears, their most terrifying nightmares. Much to the encouragement of our heroes and demoralizing of the guarding construct, the three tested heroes passed.

Marceline had to face that which all vampires fear the most; the sun. She stood in a circle and endured a beam of the brightest sunlight. The intense solar rays burned her, though not completely due to her healing powers. Yet Marceline weathered through the ordeal, drawing on her friends and recent humanity experiences to face the one thing a vampire cannot stand.

Then it was Malcolm's turn to face his darkest fear; total, irreversible amnesia. Malcolm found himself alone, without identity, without a past. This sudden turn of events would reduce most mortal men to quivering masses of cowardly gelatin, yet Malcolm drew on his heart's memories, which were immune to his condition. Focusing on his feelings of friendship and love, Malcolm shattered the oppressing amnesia and overcame the test.

Then it was Finn's turn to face his fear; the ocean, which Finn shrugged off by taking a swim in the illusionary sea summoned by the guardian construct.

"But how?" asked Roy after Finn emerged from the illusion, "how did you overcome your worst nightmare so easily?"

"Dude, I haven't been afraid of the ocean for like a couple years or so," said Finn.

"He really was scared of the ocean?" Riku asked.

"Scared? Man, he was so scared he kept hitting me to get away from it," said Jake, "and he had this weird fear thing coming out of his belly button, really gross."

"Well, Finn the Human" said Roy, "it appears I made a mistake in choosing your test format. I shall have to examine your psyche better when administering the test again."

"What? No! No way!" exclaimed Finn irately, "I passed your flippin' test already!"

"You can't give him the same test twice!" said Riku, "that's cheating!"

"The test was incomplete," said Roy, "he must take it again in order for me to allow access to The Keyhole. I'm sorry if this inconveniences you but Solaris Pretorius was very clear during my construction."

"Gee, how inconvenient that we can't ask her to tell you otherwise," said Flame Princess as she and Cinnamon Bun sat with the still unconscious Solaris.

Just then Lumpy Space Princess rushed franticly, "OH MY GLOB YOU GUYS! THEY'RE BREAKING IN!" she then hurried back the way she came, in the direction of the door to the outside.

"Now what?" asked Tess as she and the others followed Lumpy Space Princess. They approached the dungeon entrance and saw part of the stone doors rippling like water.

"They're not breaking in, Lumpy Space Princess," said Jake, "they're doing…what the heck are they doing?"

"The molecular stability of the doors is failing," said the now worried guardian construct, "but…this is impossible! Nothing can break through the doors! Solaris…"

"Solaris never thought of this, you dummy!" said Ice King, "the baddies outside, they don't have to break the doors down, they just gotta make it so they can walk through them."

"That's probably the smartest thing you've said since I got here," said Riku.

"Aw shucks," blushed Ice King, "you're too kind."

"But how are they doing it?" asked Malcolm as he examined the rippling area of the doors, "and how much longer do we have before the unstable are is large enough for them to come in?"

"At the rate the instability is expanding," said Roy as he and our heroes saw the rippling area slowly enlarge, "mere minutes!"

* * *

 **…Outside…**

"How much longer?" asked Hunson Abadeer as he and the Red Lectroids stood behind a large laser cannon firing a beam of shimmering energy down the mineshaft at the dungeon entrance. Attached to the laser cannon was a strange multi-sided device.

"At this rate, mere minutes, Mr. Abadeer," said a very pleased John Smallberries.

"Our forces are ready the minute the instability is wide enough to pass through," said John Careful Walker, indicating the throngs of waiting demons and Heartless.

"Excellent," said Hunson Abadeer, "all that's left to do is figure out just what I'm going to say to my wayward daughter."

But then something caught Hunson Abadeer's eye from up the valley, something that wasn't there when he focused his demonic vision, something he thought was yellow.

"What is it?" asked John Smallberries as he saw the concerned look on the demon's countenance, "what's gotten your hackles raised?"

"I don't have hackles," said Hunson Abadeer, "I just…I thought…it's probably nothing, but better safe than sorry," he then pointed at a group of demons, "check the valley. If there's someone watching, bring then here, alive." The demons nodded and spread out to search the valley.

* * *

"You idiot!" hissed Colonel Candy Corn as he smacked a Banana Guard admonishingly on the head, "you almost gave away your position!"

"Sorry," said the hapless Banana Guard, "I just wanted a better look."

"That's still no excuse for breaking cover, soldier!" said Colonel Candy Corn.

"Shut up!" hissed Aiden, "you'll give our position away!"

"All of you shut up!" whispered Princess Bubblegum, "they're starting to look for us!"

Aiden, Peppermint Butler, Colonel Candy Corn and Rattleballs carefully looked over their covering boulders and saw the demons searching the valley.

"I suggest we withdraw, Princess," said Rattleballs, "our position here is rapidly becoming undesirable."

"I'm forced to agree, Princess," said Colonel Candy Corn, "we can't risk getting caught."

"We can't run away either!" said Aiden, "my friends and your friends, all our friends, are trapped down that mineshaft and that thing they're using will break through all too soon! We've got to stop them! We've almost got everyone into position to attack! My plan…"

"To heck with your plan!" said Colonel Candy Corn, "we cannot risk the safety of the princess!"

"No, we're staying," said Princess Bubblegum.

"But, Princess?" said Colonel Candy Corn, "it's not safe here!"

"I know," said Princess Bubblegum, "nevertheless, I won't abandon my friends, even at the risk of my life."

"Well said, m'lady," said Peppermint Butler, "though, I suggest we find a more secure place to hide?"

"I would, Pepbut," said Princess Bubblegum, "but if we move, we risk getting caught," she then smiled, "then again, we may not have to move at all," she looked at Aiden with a grin, "you're not the only one with a plan."

* * *

 **…Inside the dungeon…**

"Well, Roy?" asked Riku as he and the others looked at the guardian construct, "what now?"

"Uh…uh…" said Roy nervously as he struggled to produce a satisfactory conclusion, "I…"

"I doubt Solaris programed you for something like this," said Tess.

"I…I believe…that time is of the essence," Roy finally admitted, "given the circumstances."

"Yes! Finally!" said Finn, "you'll let us see The Keyhole!"

"No, I never said that," said Roy.

"Then what the glib glob are you doing!?" asked Jake irately, "they're gonna be here any minute!"

"I'm going to combine the remaining set of tests," said Roy, "love and truth. I shall ask three people to express their feelings for someone they love. If they speak truthful, I will allow access to The Keyhole. Yet if I detect any falsehood, and I will know, then I will have no choice but deny access."

"Okay, ask away," said Tess, "I love Riku with all my heart and I never want to let him go."

"I'm not asking you," said Roy. He then pointed at Flame Princess, Lumpy Space Princess and Finn, "I'm asking them."

"Me?" asked Lumpy Space Princess, "uh-uh! No way am I taking some stupid love quiz!"

"Just go with it, LSP!" said Flame Princess, "there's no time to screw around. Finn, Jake, you and the others get ready to fight in case the baddies break through. You too, Cinnamon Bun."

"This concerns him, Flame Princess," said Roy, "I ask you; do you love Cinnamon Bun?"

"I…" said a visibly caught off guard Flame Princess, "I…"

"It's okay, Princess," said Cinnamon Bun, "whatever you say, I'll understand."

"Just tell the truth," said Marceline as she and the others looked around for anything heavy to reinforce the door, while Ice King began constructing a wall of ice in front of the entrance.

"Okay, I guess," said Flame Princess. She then looked at Roy, "do I love CB? Of course I love him, he's my best friend and loyal champion, but…" she then looked at Cinnamon Bun, "truth be told, I do feel deeper love than friendship and loyalty for him. CB, I…I mean, if you're okay with it, and if we get out of this mess alive, I want to take our relationship further, if that's ok with you that is."

"Oh, Princess," said an embarrassed yet joyful Cinnamon Bun, "nothing would make me happier than to try dating with you, I mean, just to see how if that kind of thing works out with us."

"Truth accepted!" said Roy, "next, Lumpy Space Princess!"

"Oh come on!" exclaimed Lumpy Space Princess, "we don't lumping have time for this!"

"Then make the time!" snapped Roy, "or forfeit and be denied access to The Keyhole!"

"Just do it for freaking sake!" snapped Marceline.

At that Lumpy Space Princess grumbled irately to herself, then looked at Roy, "oh, whatever, just do it."

"I ask you; do you love your parents?" asked Roy.

"Heck no, I don't love my parents!" spat Lumpy Space Princess, "I freaking hate my lumping parents!"

"Are you sure about that, LSP?" asked Finn, "are you really, really, really sure about it?"

"Please think carefully before you give your final answer," said Riku.

"Well," said Lumpy Space Princess, "I don't like them, I mean, they've always told me what to do and how to do it. They never let me have any fun and were always grounding me, so I left Lumpy Space and been on my own since. I had to do it, they wouldn't let me be me!"

"But do you really hate them?" asked Roy.

"Ah-ha! That's two questions!" said Lumpy Space Princess as she pointed an accusing finger at Roy.

"Technically it's still the same question," said Roy, "but enough dickering, I'll rephrase it; do you feel anything at all besides resentment towards your parents?"

"Well, yeah, they're my parents after all," Lumpy Space Princess grudgingly admitted, "I mean, they did give me lumping life and all, and I did make a few bad decisions after all."

"You made more than a few bad decisions," said Marceline.

"Shut up! You're not the one on lumping trial here!" said Lumpy Space Princess. She then looked at Roy, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I still care for my parents and…and…"

"And?" asked Roy.

"And I'd like to try and patch things up with them someday," said Lumpy Space Princess hastily, "there, I said it, happy now?"

"Truth Accepted!" said Roy, "and now, Finn the Human."

"Ask away," said Finn, "ask me about Jake, ask me about mom and dad and my real dad, ask me about anything."

"I ask you," said Roy, "about Princess Bubblegum."

At that Finn blushed slightly and faltered in his words, "uh…well, she's the princess and I'm her champion. Yeah, I did have a major crush on her for a while and I really hoped we'd start dating and stuff, but that was a long time ago. I'm her friend and champion and I love her for it, but I'm not in love with her."

"FALSEHOOD DETECTED!" shouted Roy.

"What?!" exclaimed Finn.

"What?" exclaimed Marceline, Ice King, Flame Princess and Cinnamon Bun.

"Dude!" shouted Jake, "you're still hung up over PB?"

"No! No I'm not!" said Finn defensively, "I'm way over my crush! We're friends, PB and I, that's all!"

"Another falsehood," said Roy, "you may think as such in your mind, but within your heart of hearts, you still carry a candle for Princess Bubblegum. Do not attempt to convince me otherwise, I see into your heart, Finn the Human! Your denial of love has cost you and yours access to The Keyhole!"

"Oh, good job, Finn!" said Lumpy Space Princess irately, "you just had to keep on lovin' PB, didn't you!"

"I…I…" stammered Finn.

"This can't be happening!" said an outraged Riku at Roy, "you're seriously denying us the Keyhole because of Finn's subconscious feelings? Does anyone have control over their subconscious feelings?"

"Nevertheless, he lied," said Roy, "I must now ask you all to leave the dungeon."

"Are you freaking kidding?!" exclaimed Marceline as her face contorted with demonic rage, "it's swarming with baddies out there and you're kicking us out?! Are you crazy?!"

"I am merely obeying the precepts given to me by Solaris Pretorius," said Roy.

"Of course! Solaris!" exclaimed Marceline, "she can still talk some sense into you!" she then began shaking Solaris, "Wake up! Wake up already!"

"I must again ask you to leave!" insisted Roy, "if you do not vacate the dungeon within sixty seconds, I will have no choice but to flood the dungeon with poison gas."

It was then that the rippling in the doors widened enough to allow several demons and Heartless to pass through at once. Immediately, the fell creatures attacked Ice King's barrier.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Ice King as he reinforced his ice barrier, "You cannot pass!" yet the demons and Heartless damaged the barrier faster than Ice King could repair it with his magic.

"There's no time, you dummy!" shouted Flame Princess at Roy, "we've gotta get to The Keyhole now!"

"This…this is…highly irregular," said Roy, "I…I don't know what to do."

"Do the right thing, glib glob it!" shouted Jake as he stretched across the failing barrier, forming another barrier with his body. Instantly, his enlarged body bulged in places where the creatures punched, kicked and scratched him, "Hurry! This hurts a lot more than you think!"

"Just hold on, Jake!" said Finn. He then looked at Roy, "Okay, I'm sorry! I do still love Princess Bubblegum! I do hope she'll love me back! Just…"

But then Jake cried out in agony as he was forced to release his barrier form and was trampled by a flood of demons and Heartless. Before any of our heroes could resist, they found themselves captured and restrained.

"Well, well, well," said Hunson Abadeer as he and the Red Lectroids strode into the dungeon and found our heroes and allies weighted down by sheer numbers, "it actually worked."

"It told you it would work, Mr. Abadeer," said John Smallberries, "and now we have our enemies and The Keyhole right where we want them."

"I cannot allow this to go any further!" exclaimed Roy, "no one is to have access to The Keyhole! The poison gas will see to that!"

"Oh shut up!" said Hunson Abadeer as he cast a demonic spell, sending out waves of dark magic that dissolved the dungeon structure.

"In-in-inconceivable!" exclaimed Roy as he faded out of existence with the dungeon, leaving our heroes and the enemy out in the open on the valley floor. Several yards away imbedded in the ground lay The Keyhole of Ooo.

"It was right next to us," said Malcolm, "and we never even thought to look down."

"Roy did his job," said Marceline, "he kept The Keyhole safe as long as he could."

"Poor guy," said Jake, "I kinda miss him."

"Abadeer you jerk!" shouted Ice King, "you ruined Solaris's magic!" He was then silenced by a massive dogpile of Heartless.

"I'd take your soul if your insanity wouldn't make me sick, Simon Petrokov," said Hunson Abadeer, "no, I'm saving my appetite for much more desirable fare."

"You stay away from Solaris, you soul-sucking bastard!" shouted Marceline.

"That's no way to speak to your father, young lady," said John Careful Walker.

"Even Red Lectroids respect their elders," said John Ready to Fly.

"And you'll soon learn to respect me, Marceline," said Hunson Abaderr as he walked up to his wayward daughter, "after I've taken away everything you love, you'll have nothing left but to come back with me to The Nightosphere."

"I'd rather have a Grass Lard take a diarrhea dump in my ear," said Marceline coldly, "so go eat the rotten asshole of a road-kill opossum!"

"Why you foulmouthed little…!" exclaimed Hunson Abadeer as he raised his hand to strike Marceline, but relented, "no, I won't resort to that. I've got something better in mind." He then looked at John Smallberries, "you think that doohickey of yours will work on a half-demon vampire queen?"

"Which doohickey?" asked John Smallberries, "oh, _that_ doohickey! You know, it might just work. I'll bring it over right away. Of course, we'll have to unhook _him_ from it, we only have the one doohickey."

"What are you talking about?" asked Finn as John Smallberries sent out a trans-dimensional text, "what doohickey?"

"Who's him?" asked Flame Princess.

"We might as well tell them," said John Careful Walker, "they're gonna die anyway."

"Might as well," said John Smallberies, "Haven't you fools wondered where we're getting all these powerful Heartless? And why they're shades of yellow?"

"It's crossed our minds," said Riku, "then again, we really haven't had much time to think about it."

"Especially after all the trouble you've been giving us," said Tess.

"Well, permit me to enlighten your miniscule minds," said John Smallberries as a large portal opened, from which emerged several Red Lectroids wearing labcoats, as well as a mobile, computer-controlled torture rack with a wireless transmitter. And clamped to the torture rack, his body covered with electrodes connected to the rack's computer, was someone all too familiar to Finn and his fellow Ooo citizens.

"Lemongrab!" exclaimed Fin, Jake, Flame Princess, Cinnamon Bun and Lumpy Space Princess.

"This whole situation is UNACEPTABLE!" screamed the third Earl of Lemongrab as he struggled against his restraints. One of the Red Lectroid technicians entered a command on the rack's computer. Lemongrab screamed and writhed with agony as the rack sent pain signals into his body, while the wireless transmitter beeped as it sent out its signal.

"Yes indeed," said John Smallberries, "we captured Ooo's most unpleasant inhabitant, all so we could harness his private pain and use it to enhance The Heartless. Of course, we have to keep Lemongrab suffering; it takes a lot of pain for the Heartless enhancing process. But since he's such a miserable bastard, he really doesn't need that much encouragement."

"But you're something completely different, Marceline," said John Ready to Fly, "I wonder how much pain you could withstand before you're screaming for mercy? And what kind of Heartless your suffering will produce?"

"NO!" shouted Ice King as he struggled to free himself from his pile of Heartless, "you leave Marcy alone!"

"Ah…there you are, Simon," said Solaris weakly as she tried to sit up, only to have herself pulled to her feet by two demons, "I'd honestly given up of ever hearing from the real you."

"I'm glad you're awake, Solaris," said Hunson Abadeer, "you're about to see all your hard work to keep Ooo safe fall apart. But first thing's first! Today's Punishment Day, Marceline!"

"No! Leave her alone!" shouted Finn as he, Jake, Riku and the others struggled to free themselves, yet were completely helpless as Marceline was lead to the torture rack. The Red Lectroid technicians unceremoniously unclamped and dumped Lemongrab off the insidious device.

"Mmmm…slightly acceptable," said Lemongrab as he found himself lying face down on the ground.

"Any last words before you start screaming, Marceline?" asked Hunson Abadeer, "I imagine your healing powers will have a hard time repairing your vocal cords after I'm done with you."

"Just one question, daddy," said Marceline irately as she was clamped onto the rack, "who did it? Who in all of Ooo was so dumb that he sold the world to a bunch of psychotic aliens?"

"As we said before," said John Smallberries as the technicians began applying the electrodes to Marceline, "our client wishes to remain anonymous."

"Why keep myself in the dark?" said another familiar voice to Finn and his friends, a voice all to unwelcome, "I did it! And I'm glad I did! Best deal I've ever made!"

"That voice!" said a shocked Finn, "but…he's gone! Crunchy melted him!"

"Oh, it'll take a lot more than a little old fire to get rid of me, my formerly loyal knight," said the King of Ooo as he pushed his way through the throngs of demons and Heartless, "I am immortal! And soon, very soon, I shall be a very rich immortal on another world, which I shall rule as its one true king!"

It was then that Princess Bubblegum appeared out of nowhere a few yards away, a cloaking device on her wrist and a look of unbridled rage on her face and her Ball Blam Burglerbur aimed at the false monarch, "You waxy wanker! You sold Ooo!"

"Ah, my gummy nemesis," said King of Ooo, "how lovely to see you again in all your royal finery which should be mine. No matter, keep your pathetic Candy Kingdom, it'll all be gone with the rest of the world soon enough."

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed Aiden as he too appeared out of nowhere a few yards away, "we're not ready yet!"

"Change of plans, young one!" shouted Colonel Candy Corn as he deactivated his own cloaking device, "charge!" with that he drew his saber and several Banana Guards rushed at the demons and Heartless. From another position charged Rattleballs and more Banana Guards, while Lady Rainicorn fired multi-colored beams of magic from above.

"Just hang on, guys!" shouted Aiden as he ran into the throng of creatures and began destroying them with his Keyblade, "we're coming! Peppermint Butler! Stay with and keep Bonnie safe!"

"M'lady, I must insist!" said Peppermint Butler as he ran up to Princess Bubblegum, whom irately shoved him aside.

"We've got them all here where we want them!" said John Careful Walker, "summon Mobile Factory 2! We'll crush them all in one swift stroke!"

"Not just yet," said John Smallberries, "I want to see how this works out."

"Me too," said Hunson Abadeer as he summoned a large plate of fries and began gobbling them up in front of an irate Marceline.

"You slimy ball of ear waste!" said Princess Bubblegum as she advanced on King of Ooo, while a recovered Peppermint Butler remained at her side, "how much did you get in exchange for selling out the world?"

"I sincerely hope it was more than thirty pieces of silver," said Peppermint Butler as he cocked his magic shotgun.

"Oh I got way more than a bag of silver, little mint," said King of Ooo, "you wouldn't believe the amount of gold my extraterrestrial allies have stored away like acorns."

"We had a thousand years to build up our resources," said John Smallberries.

"And what a deal it was," said King of Ooo, "I get my gold and a one-way trip to a fresh world to rule, my friends get this world to exploit. Everyone wins!"

"Except the people of Ooo," exclaimed Princess Bubblegum, " _Sie krank Haufen von Ohrenschmalz!_ Eat Ball Balms!" she then fired her weapon, shooting a ball-shaped energy blast at the false monarch.

Yet King of Ooo laughed as the energy projectile hit and bounced off a forcefield around him, shooting back toward Princess Bubblegum. "Look out!" exclaimed Peppermint Butler as he pulled Princess Bubblegum out of the way. The blast hit where they just stood, detonating with a massive explosion.

"Fools!" King of Ooo shouted joyfully, "your pitiful weapons have no effect on me! Especially such poorly crafted weapons!" he then laughed again.

Princess Bubblegum got up and saw to her dismay the broken form of her Ball Blam Burglerbur. A look of utmost hate drew on her countenance as she glared back at King of Ooo, "Shut up!" she shouted, "Stop laughing!"

"No, I don't think so!" said King of Ooo, whom then laughed harder and in a more mocking manner.

"You sick son of a bitch!" shouted Aiden as he, Colonel Candy Corn, Rattleballs, Lady Rainicorn and the Banana Guards fought to get past the demons and Heartless, "you'd better shut up!"

This only made King of Ooo laugh louder, and make Princess Bubblegum madder.

"Okay, that's enough fooling around," said Hunson Abadeer, "Punishment Day starts now! John Smallberries! Do your worse!"

"With pleasure," said John Smallberries as he walked over to the torture computer and turned the insidious device on.

Marceline was suddenly racked with pain as her nerves were induced. It was as if her whole body was exposed to the infernal rays of a thousand blistering suns. Unable to resist, she screamed her heart's agony.

"NO! STOP IT!" shouted Princess Bubblegum, yet this only made King of Ooo laugh harder, while Hunson Abadeer and the Red Lectroids joined in on the vile jocularity.

"Princess, I beg you!" shouted Peppermint Butler as he saw Peincess Bubblegum tremble with fury, "you must calm down! Please, don't lose control!" he touched her arm in order to reach through her rage, only to be picked up. Screeching with unbridled rage, Princess Bubblegum threw Peppermint Butler into the throngs of demons Heartless.

Fortunately for the loyal servant, he landed a few paces from Aiden, whom fought his way through the creatures and helped Peppermint Butler stand up.

"You must get me back to her!" said Peppermint Butler as he pulled out a sword and helped Aiden fend off the demons and Heartless, "please, we must hurry before she begins to swell!"

"Uh…too late," said Aiden as he looked over the throngs of enemies and saw Princess Bubblegum, her body expanding, "what, is she about to explode?"

"Worse, far worse," said a now terrified and distraught Peppermint Butler, "Princess Bubblegum, she's Hulking Out!"

Princess Bubblegum's height grew to fifteen feet as her muscle mass increased exponentially, while her eyes turned bright red with rage. Bellowing like a mad animal, she charged at King of Ooo, whom barely got out of the way with a cry of shock and horror.

The enraged Princess Bubblegum, or Bubble Hulk as she might as well be called, continued her reckless rush, demolishing several demons and Heartless in her way as she reached the torture rack. Bellowing again, Bubble Hulk raised two mighty fists up and brought them down on the terrible machine, smashing it to pieces and breaking several of Marceline's bones.

"That pink freak!" exclaimed John Smallberries, "She'll ruin everything! Get her!" with that the majority of demons and Heartless in the area converged on the out of control Bubble Hulk.

"Marcy!" shouted Ice King. With his own cry of fury, he unleashed a wave of ice magic that blasted out and froze the creatures holding him down. He then flew over and picked up the broken form of Marceline, whom even now was beginning to heal.

"I'm okay, Simon," said Marceline weakly as her body recovered, "I…I just need a minute."

"Oh, where's some chicken soup when you need it?" asked Ice King as he looked around worriedly.

"Oh my gosh! It's really you, Simon!" said Marceline as she realized that it wasn't Ice King speaking but her friend, Simon Petrokov.

"Why, yes, it really is me," said an astonished Simon, "but…how? I guess seeing you suffering allowed me to overcome The Crown's maddening influence. But for how long? How long before I'm once again lost in the labyrinth of insanity?"

"I'm just glad to talk to you again," said Marceline, "and I don't need soup, just something red."

"I've got it, Marceline!" said Finn, whom, along with Jake and the others, had also broken free of the restraining creatures. Finn rushed over and pulled a red apple out of his backpack, "here, you go."

"Thanks, Finn," said Marceline. She bit into the apple and drained it of pigment. Her healing wounds accelerated and she was back on her feet, "ah…nothing like fresh red. Oh, Simon, I want to introduce you to my new friends; that's Riku, Aiden, Tess and Malcolm," she pointed out the four Keyblade Wielders, all fighting demons and Heartless, "they're from another world."

"Keyblades? Fascinating!" said Simon, "I'll have to talk with them later, I mean, if I'm still able to ask coherent questions," he then saw several demons and Heartless approaching them, "after we deal with these miscreants that is!" he then aimed and shot several freezing bolts at the creatures.

"Incredible!" said Simon as he looked at his hands, "I have full use of The Crown's power, yet I'm still me!" He then froze more demons and Heartless solid. He then saw several demons destroyed by a different beam of magic. "Oh my goodness! Solairs? Solaris Pretorius, is that you?"

"As much as I'm glad you're sensible again, Simon Petrokov," said a restored Solaris as she blasted more demons and Heartless, "we've got bigger fish to fry!" She then saw Hunson Abadeer, "after I deal with this piece of crap!" With that she sent a blast of magic at Hunson Abadeer, whom easily dodged it.

"You wanna duel me, Solaris?! Okay, let's duel!" said Hunson Abadeer, "it'll work up my apatite!" with that he began trading magic blasts with Solaris.

"Now can we call in Mobile Factory 2?" asked John Ready to Fly irately to his fellow Red Lectroids.

"We do seem to be in dire straits," said John Smallberries, "Perhaps we should summon the new Mobile Factory before things become direr."

"Finally!" said an exasperated John Ready to Fly as he pulled out his cell phone, "I'll just text our brothers back in The Nightosphere to get the ball rolling and we'll…"

That's as far as John Ready to Fly got before a deafening sonic blast tore his head off.

"What the…!?" exclaimed John Smallberries as he and the other Red Lectroids backed away from the remains of John Ready to Fly.

"You…you unsolicited undesirables!" shouted Lemongrab as he wielded his sound sword, which he had on him the whole time for some reason, "you dare invade my earldom! You assaulted my people and complied me to endure indescribable misery! This cannot go unpunished!"

He swung his sound sword at the Red Lectroid technicians whom had been torturing him the whole time, delivering a massive sonic blast that liquefied their insides.

Lemongrab then aimed his blade at John Careful Walker and fired a continuous sound blast that caused the creature to cry out in agony and clutch his ears. "You must learn that actions have consequences!" screamed Lemongrab, "You must be reconditioned! RECONDITIONED!"

John Careful Walker writhed as his whole body vibrated violently, then revealed his true, reptilian form due to his damaged pheromone organs. With a splatter of flesh and blood, the alien was destroyed.

"Hmm…" said a satisfied Lemongrab as he sheathed his sound sword, "who's next?" He then glared at John Smallberries, whom looked around, seeing he was alone, before dashing off.

But not far. A large portal appeared in the air, from which dropped a walking factory similar to the one Finn, Riku and the others destroyed.

"Oh man! I really hoped they didn't have another of those!" said Finn as he and the others saw John Smallberries board the walking factory.

"Hey, we destroyed the other one," said Jake as the factory fully powered up, belching noxious smoke from its many smokestacks, "we can take this one down!"

"We didn't have to fight a horde of demons and Heartless first," said Riku. True enough, though by now nearly all of the gathered demons and Heartless were destroyed, our heroes were in no shape to engage a boss fight as massive as the Red Lectroid's walking factory. All except one.

"BONNIE SMASH!" roared Bubble Hulk as she rushed at the walking factory, dodging its grasping claw arms and jumping onto its superstructure. She ignored the swarming Gray Collar Heartless that emerged to attack her, instead grabbing onto and ripping whole parts out of the machine. More grasping claw arms reached up to pick her off but she either smashed them to pieces or ripped them out of their housings.

"I think she's got this," said an astonished Flame Princess as she and the others watched Bubble Hulk tear the walking factory apart, "but…but, I had no idea she could be like this."

"Me neither," said Marceline, "and I've known Bonnibel as long as anyone else on Ooo has."

"I've known her longer," said a very worried Peppermint Butler, "oh, this isn't good, not good at all."

"What'cha worried about?" asked Jake, "sure, she's super scary now, but…"

"But she's winning!" said Tess, "look at her go! She's demolishing that thing like it was a toy!"

"You don't understand!" said Peppermint Butler urgently, "I've seen her like this before! I was very, very young at the time, barely a child, but I remember it as if it were yesterday," he then looked at Bubble Hulk, "how could anyone forget such raw fury and destruction?"

"What happened, Pepbut?" asked Finn.

"Do you remember, Finn," said Peppermint Butler, "the chain of events that lead you to the remains of one of your past lives?"

"Yeah, Shoko," said Finn, "this gang of bathing baddies made her sneak her into The Candy Kingdom to steal Probble's amulet."

"You were a girl in another life?" asked Malcolm.

"Dude, Finn used to be a lot of things in previous lives," said Jake.

"Focus, fools!" shouted Peppermint Butler, "well, the story doesn't end with Shoko's fall into the radioactive waste and mutating, eventually dying where your treehouse would grow, Finn. After Shoko disappeared and Princess Bubblegum banished the Bath Boy Gang to the far end of Ooo where they couldn't cause trouble, a pair of humans arrived at the kingdom, claiming to be Shoko's parents."

"You mean the ones who sold Shoko's arm for a computer?" asked Finn, "oh snap, I'll bet PB was really messed up seeing them."

"She took an instant dislike to them," said Peppermint Butler, "which grew to hatred when she found out the truth as to why they came to see her. The two claimed they were looking for Shoko's mortal remains to give her a proper burial, but in truth they heard of her mutation and were seeking to experiment on it.

"To hear such callous words about their daughter, her friend, awoke something dark and terrible in the princess. She went berserk, transformed into the hulking monster before you and tore those two humans to pieces, then turned her rage on the kingdom."

"She did what?!" asked Simon, "why? Why would she do that? Even I wouldn't do something so terrible, even as my worst as The Ice King."

"She was blinded by pure rage and hate," said Peppermint Butler, "anything that stood in her way was seen as an enemy to be destroyed, even if it were a loved one or a loyal subject. Hundreds of Candy People and half the kingdom were lost before the princess calmed from her wrathful fugue."

"I…I didn't know," said Marceline as she fell to her knees, "I didn't know."

"No one knew," said Peppermint Butler, "and the princess wanted it that way. She was utterly heartbroken by her actions and sought to undo it as best she could. She found a wizard who erased her memories and the memories of everyone in the kingdom, except for mine. I alone remembered what happened that terrible day."

"How do you remember when everyone else forgot?" asked Flame Princess, "and which wizard did it?"

"I did," admitted Solaris, "it's in my memoirs somewhere," she then looked at Peppermint Butler, "but you were immune to my spell. I told you that you had tremendous magical potential and would make a great wizard." She frowned, "but instead, you delved into the dark arts while pretending to be the loyal servant."

"I am a loyal servant!" exclaimed Peppermint Butler, "I'd die for Princess Bubblegum! And shouldn't you still be fighting Hunson Abadeer?"

"I got him stuck in a Devil's Trap," said Solaris, "he won't be bothering anyone for a while." She indicated Hunson Abadeer, standing in a pentagram in a circle marked with runes.

"I'll get out of this soon enough, Solaris!" shouted Hunson Abadeer, "and then your soul will be mine!"

"Whatever floats your boat," said Solaris, "I've got bigger things to worry about."

By now Bubble Hulk had nearly disabled the walking factory. More than half its legs and all of its arms were destroyed, while the smokestacks had been crushed, forcing the foul gas back into the superstructure and building up incredible pressure within. Bubble Hulk jumped away in time as the vile construct exploded.

Our heroes took cover behind boulders against the fallout of metal. When the rain of factory fragments finished falling, they saw the control room, reinforced as a life pod, laying several yards away. Inside behind the bullet-proof glass windows lay a dazed John Smallberries and the remaining Red Lectroids.

"BONNIE MAD!" shouted Bubble Hulk as she leapt onto and began pounding the control room, "BONNIE SMASH! GET REVENGE ON ALIENS!" she then ripped open the control room like a tin can and jumped in. Our heroes had to look away as Bubble Hulk tore the terrified, screaming Red Lectorids apart.

"Well, that's that, I guess," said a disturbed Finn, "it's over."

"No, it's not," said Peppermint Butler, "haven't you heard anything I said? Once she's done with them, she'll turn her rage on us!"

"It's worse than you think," said Solaris, "if enough time passes and her rampage continues, she'll burn herself out. All that sheer hate and rage in her heart will consume her candy essence until there's nothing left."

"You mean…she'll die?" asked Finn.

"It's a distinct possibility," said Solaris.

It was then that John Smallberries escaped the control room via an emergency hatch, though he didn't get far due to a broken leg. With a roar of fury, Bubble Hulk leapt out of the control room and grabbed John Smallberries, crushing him in her hands.

But then Bubble Hulk saw our heroes and began stalking towards them.

"Uh…easy, Bonnibel," said Marceline as she held up her hands placating, "you don't want to hurt us.

"BONNIE SMASH!" shouted Bubble Hulk as she raised her hands to crush Marceline, but then paused as she looked at the vampire queen more closely, "M-M-Marceline?"

"Yes, it's me, Bonnibel!" said Marceline, "I'm your friend/sometimes frenemy."

"We're all your friends, Bonnie," said Flame Princess, "just calm down."

"F-Friends?" asked Bubble Hulk as she began to calm down

"We're all here for you, PB," said Finn.

The sight of all her friends standing around her peacefully triggered a reverse reaction in Bubble Hulk. Her body and muscle mass decreased, returning Princess Bubblegum to her normal size and shape, albeit with torn clothing.

"For goodness sake!" said Peppermint Butler as he pulled out a cloak, "Avert your eyes!" he flung the cloak around Princess Bubblegum before her torn clothing left her in a compromising position.

"It's alright, Pepbut," said Princess Bubblegum, "I can always…" she then nearly fainted and passed out from exhaustion, only to be caught by Finn.

"I gotcha, Princess," said Finn, "you're okay now."

"Finn?" asked Princess Bubblegum in a tired tone, "I wanna go home."

"Yeah, me too," said Finn.

"Oh please," said a disgusted Hunson Abadeer, "don't make me laugh!"

"Shut up, Daddy!" said Marceline irately, "As soon as I remember that banishment spell I found, I'm sending you back to The Nightosphere for a long time!"

"As if you can keep me there, Marceline!" said Hunson Abadeer, "I can't die and you have your own weaknesses. I'll outlast you and get my revenge!"

"Whatever, man," said Jake, "we'll get to you just as soon as…" he looked around, "hey, where's Koo?"

"I haven't seen that guy since Bonnie went berserk," said Flame Princess.

"Oh don't tell me he got away!" exclaimed Princess Bubblegum as she made Finn put her down, "I oughta…!"

"Don't!" cried Peppermint Butler, "Please calm down, princess!"

"We'll find him, Bonnie," said Riku, "he couldn't have gotten far."

"We'll search the length and breadth of Ooo to find that troublemaker!" said Tess, at which Aiden and Malcolm nodded in agreement.

"Oh? And here I thought Keyblade Wielders were the ideal troublemakers!" said a familiar voice to Riku, Aiden, Tess and Malcolm. The four Keyblade Wielders looked at saw, much to their joyful surprise, Sidney.

"What? Is there something on my face?" asked the holographic AI.

"SIDNEY!" shouted the four Keyblade Wielders as they rushed to and embraced their digital friend.

"We thought you were dead or deleted or something!" said Malcolm.

"I almost was," said Sidney, "after that horrid Katrina and Darklight broke past my defenses and sent you all away I nearly burned up in Earth C-359's atmosphere. Luckily I was able to enact repairs to affect an emergency dimensional shift to this world and land safely and continue repairs."

"The Intrepid Heart? She's here?" asked Tess.

"Yes," said Sidney, "though she's seen better days. See for yourself."

Sidney pointed up to a hovering Gummy Ship, which our heroes hadn't noticed due to all the excitement.

"I sensed something going on and had to take a look," said Sidney, "and found this creep trying to creep away."

The Intrepid Heart maneuvered lower and our heroes saw the ship's tractor beam activated. Caught in the beam was a squirming King of Ooo.

"You got the gods damned mother fraker!" said Aiden.

"Release me, foolish peons!" shouted King of Ooo, "this is no way to treat your one true King!"

"You are no king," said Riku as the ship brought King of Ooo down to the ground. The tractor beam stopped, only for King of Ooo to be grabbed by Cinnamon Bun.

"Any ruler who so callously sells out their world doesn't deserve a crown," said Princess Bubblegum coldly.

"Ah-ha, but you see, Bonnibel Bubblegum," said King of Ooo, "I did win the election. Technically I'm still princess of The Candy Kingdom." In response, Princess Bubblegum slammed her fist into his face.

"Monarchies aren't democracies, you jack hole!" exclaimed Princess Bubblegum, only to be held back from further harming Koo by her friends.

"Good gods!" exclaimed Aiden as he saw the fist-shaped indentation in Koo's face, "he really is made of wax!"

"And he can regenerate," said Malcolm as he and the others saw Koo's face return too normal.

"I told you all, I'm immortal!" said King of Ooo, "and therefore the only one worthy of ruling Ooo!" he was then punched in the face by Lumpy Space Princess

"I wouldn't let you rule a pile of squirrel crap!" said Lumpy Space Princess. She then punched him again, "selling out the world to a bunch of lumping aliens, will you?! Take this!" she punched him again, only to be shoved aside by Lemongrab.

"No, purple one," said Lemongrab as he drew his sound sword, "save your fists of fury for another day! Physical punishment will do no good here! This moronic monarch must be reconditioned!" He raised his sound sword to strike King of Ooo, "RECONDITIONED!"

"Stop it, Lemony Snicket!" said Marceline, "nothing you can do will make him change."

"WHAT?!" screamed Lemongrab, "I…I am not Snicket! And he must be reconditioned! Any other form of punishment is UNACEPTABLE!"

"How about rebuilding the Red Lectroids's torture table and strapping Koo to it?" suggested Marceline with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, well," said a calmer Lemongrab as he sheathed his sword, "that would be acceptable."

"It would also be sinking to his level," said Simon, "torture and murder will only drag us through the mud. Let me freeze him solid and place him in a secure part of The Ice Kingdom. That way he will never be allowed to cause trouble again."

"Hmmm…" said Princess Bubblegum thoughtfully, "I was gonna suggest melting him down and keeping him in a melted state, but an eternal deep freeze works for me."

"You can't do this!" said King of Ooo as Cinnamon Bun let him go and everyone backed away, "I am your king! You should all bow down to me! TO ME! TO…!" that's as far as he got before Simon zapped and froze him solid.

"And that's that," said Simon, "it's over; Ooo is safe again."

"Not quite yet, old friend," said Solaris, "our friends from another world have a duty to perform."

"She's right," said Riku, "Guys?" At that Tess, Malcolm and Aiden nodded. They walked over to Ooo's Keyhole and summoned their Keyblades. They aimed and fired beams of magic into The Keyhole, which locked with a loud 'CLICK!'

"Now Ooo is safe," said Riku, "and it's about time."

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"Oh, this is bad!" said Professor von Drake as he looked out at the stars through a modified telescope on the castle's tallest balcony. Dashing back inside, he raced through the castle, out into the town proper and out onto the crystal wastes, where Kairi was overseeing the training of new AT pilots.

"I must tell her!" shouted von Drake as he saw Ansem and Quistis, "I must tell the queen!"

"Tell her what?" asked Quistis, "she's busy right now, and if it's bad news, it can wait."

"No it can't!" said von Drake, "not something this big!"

"The queen is in a rather delicate emotional state," said Ansem, "with everything that has happened, any further catastrophes could push her over the edge. I'm sorry, my friend, but your news will have to wait."

"Oh, very well then," said von Drake, "but everyone will know soon enough, just as soon as the theory of relativity runs its course."

"What are you talking about, you mad mallard?" asked Scrooge McDuck as he walked up.

"I was using my telescope to keep an eye on the realms, you see," said von Drake, "and happened to see The Pridelands go dark." He pointed up at a shining star in the sky, "that world's orbit currently has it too far away to see it in real time. But soon, sooner than you think, its light will stop shining."

"Good grief!" said Quistis, "that makes nine worlds!"

"Nine Keyholes Katrina has had cracked," said Ansem, "The Queen must be told!" with that he hurried up to and spoke with Kairi.

"How do you think she'll react?" asked Quistis as she, Scrooge and von Drake saw Kairi take the news. Kairi nodded in acknowledgement and went back to work.

"How'd she take it?" asked Quistis as Ansem walked back up to them.

"With the quiet, dignity and grace of the queen we all expect her to be," said Ansem, "but I could tell she is on the edge. I honestly don't know how much more she can endure before…"

"Before even her pure heart falls into despair," finished von Drake, "that I'm afraid even science cannot tell."

Kairi looked up at the stars just in time to see the light from The Pridelands go out. "Riku," she said to herself and to the heavens, "Aiden, Tess, Malcolm, wherever you are, please, hurry back!"

 **The End of Chapter 5.**

 _Next chapter finds Riku, Aiden, Tess and Malcolm prepairing to head back to The Realms of Light, only to find their return facing an unexpected delay. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	7. Chapter 6: Conversations with Prismo

_Last time found Cif forced into forging The Sampo for Katrina when The Lich kidnaped Selphie, Yuffie and Aerith, while Regina took their hearts and tortured them. Darklight then went out and smashed open another Keyhole, bringing the total of Drowned Worlds to nine._

 _Over on Ooo, Riku, Finn and the others could only play along with the dungeon's defenses and hope to reach the Keyhole before The Red Lectroids broke in. They failed and it seemed that Ooo would fall to the darkness. Yet the enemy made a fatal mistake when the one who sold Ooo to The Red Lectroids, The King of Ooo, made himself known to our heroes and mocked them. This lead to Princess Bubblegum to give in to her rage and nearly singlehandedly wipe out The Red Lectroids. Hunson Abadeer was imprisoned, Koo was frozen solid and Ooo's Keyhole was sealed. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 6: Conversations with Prismo**

… **Castle Oblivion…**

"Be it ever so crumble," said Darklight miserably as she walked back into the Interocitor room, "there's no place like home. Wait…where is everyone? And why are the lights out?"

Just then the lights came on brightly, followed by a deafening "SURPRISE!"

After Darklight's eyes adjusted from the sudden glaring brightness, she saw that the room was decked out as if for a birthday party, complete with balloons, streamers and confetti shooters.

"Congratulations, my dear Darklight!" said Katrina as she walked up, wearing a gaudy party dress and a cheesy party hat, holding out a party hat and a 'Party Girl' sash for Darklight, "once again you've proven your worth! Nine Keyholes have been smashed open! Nine worlds drowned in darkness!"

"And three too go, yes we know," said Regina grumbly as she tore off her party hat, while Young Xehanort and Sephiroth stood off in the corners embarrassed by their outfits they were forced to wear, "This is a waste of time, Katrina! Can't you see she's not in the mood to celebrate?"

"Not in the mood? Not in the mood?!" exclaimed Katrina, "of course she's in the mood!" she looked at Darklight, "aren't you in the mood to celebrate your triumphant victory? Surely you feel like rejoicing after conquering a world full of savage beasts?"

"They were all asleep!" snapped Darklight, "all of them, including the big one, Simba."

"Well…then…you took them by surprise," said Katrina, "and slaughtered them all! It must have been a bloodbath!"

"I snuck around them to the Keyhole," said Darklight, "it really wasn't that big a deal." She pushed the hat and sash away, "I don't feel like celebrating anything. I'm going to my room to read depressing poetry for a while." With that she walked out of the room.

"Well, she's certainly a wet blanket," said Regina.

"How dare she!" snapped Katrina, "how dare she walk out on me in such a mood! When we've come so far and are so close to my goal! I ought to…!"

Just then The Lord of Illusions appeared next to Katrina, "sorry to interrupt the party, but there's a slight technical issue with The Sampo."

"What issue?!" demanded Katrina, "isn't that old cog Cid working on it?"

"He is," said The Lord of Illusions, "he has everything he needs, except time, he claims. He told me to tell you that 'it'll be ready when it's ready, so don't bother threatening me to work faster, for crying out loud!' Personally, oh great one, I wouldn't threaten him to work faster, I'll only distract and put him further off schedule."

"Oh, I'll put him back on schedule," said Katrina, "he'll have no choice! Regina! Regina?" she looked around and saw that the former evil queen wasn't in the room.

"She snuck off," said Young Xehanort as he and Sephiroth tried to decide which alcoholic beverage to spike the punch with, "probably to read depressing poetry with Darklight."

"Well, I'm going to celebrate whether she wants to or not!" said Katrina as she popped a cracker, releasing more streamers into the air. "Okay, that's enough celebrating. I need Regina for this!" with that she zapped herself out of the room.

"I don't know about you, my friend," said Young Xehanort, "but I'm getting a little tired of her."

"If you're thinking of betrayal, the thought has crossed my mind," said Sephiroth, "Katrina has become rather insufferable. On the other hand, I am curious as to how this can of worms we've opened will turn out."

"True, true," said Young Xehanort, "once the worms wriggle out, the only thing you can do is see where they go." He then looked around in confusion, "just what is Regina up to, anyway?"

* * *

The former evil queen in question cautiously made her way through the lower levels of the castle towards the area allocated to The Lich for its experiments. All the while she questioned her actions; why was she potentially risking her life and soul to satisfy her curiosity? Was it worth it?

"Yes, it is," Regina said to herself. Indeed, it was worth the risk. The very presence of the unholy entity possessing Sora put Regina on edge. Every instinct told her to get as far away as possible from the necromancer, yet her curiosity drove her on. Just what was this creature up to? What is its endgame? And what the hell does it want with the earthly remains of Gaston and Lady Tremaine?

"Nothing good, that's what," said Regina to herself as she neared the room where The Lich had set up shop. The door was slightly ajar and the light was on inside.

Regina peeked through the door and saw what appeared to be a run of the mill dark magic workshop. The lich had made short work acquiring various tomes and girmoires of the dark arts, several tables full of potion equipment and shelves full of cursed and enchanted items.

Holding her breath, Regina pushed the door slightly to get a better view. The door, well oiled, made no noise as her view improved, allowing Regina to see that The Lich was nowhere in the workshop. More so she saw an enormous caldron boiling over a green fire.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," said Regina as she pushed the door open and walked. She examined some of the open books and scrolls on the tables yet could not make sense of the obviously ancient and dark language of the spells and enchantments, nor could she identify most of the potion reagents.

"What the hell are you up to?" asked Regina, her confidence growing as she walked towards the caldron. It was much bigger than it looked from the doorway, at least thirty feet tall and twice as wide and needed staircase to reach over it.

Regina climbed the stairs and looked over the rim of the caldron, only to see nothing but steam and splashes of boiling greenish yellow liquid, as well as the ends of several large wooden sticks stirring the insidious concoction. The stench of rot and decay whiffed from the boiling liquid.

"Well, this has been a disappointing waste of time," said Regina as she climbed down he stairs and hurried towards the door, only to pause when a large metal tank with a glass porthole caught her eye. She walked towards it and used a nearby stepstool to look through the porthole. There was definitely something in the tank but the interior was too dark to see clearly.

But then whatever was inside the tank shifted and Regina saw something that terrified her to the point of screaming. She fell off the stepstool landed on her back on the floor. Scrambling to her feet, she started for the door, only to bump into The Lich, earning another scream of fright from the former evil queen. But this scream wasn't just from surprise, for Sora's body had changed; at least four inches taller, less muscular and more skeletal, while two twisting horns were emerging from his head and his skin had turned several shades gray.

"What are you doing here?" asked The Lich coldly as he backed Regina towards the wall, the former evil queen nearly paralyzed with fear as she saw the evil burning in the creature's eyes.

"I ask again," said The Lich as its faced morphed, becoming more skeletal as its teeth enlarged and black smoke drifted from its mouth, "what are you doing here?"

For an instant, Regina as convinced she was going to die, or worse, be resurrected to serve the unholy abomination before her. But then, Regina remembered who she was, what she was. Not just the evil queen, not just one of the most powerful villains in the realms. She was clever.

"That's a good question," said Regina, "what am I doing here?"

At that The Lich's expression turned puzzled as it stepped back, its face morphing back to Sora's twisted features.

"I mean, why am I still here with Xehanort and the others?" asked Regina, "I admit, I followed Maleficent, partly because she had leverage over me, and I sort of owed her for getting me out of that hospital and restoring my youth and beauty," she summoned a hand mirror and admired her reflection, "still looking good, by the way."

"I don't…" said The Lich.

"I doubt you would," said Regina a she vanished her mirror, "There's a lot of reasons why I stayed as long as I did; the thought of finally triumphing over Snow White, a share of the conquest of The Realms of Light, seeing all my enemies defeated once and for all and so on and so forth.

"But if there's one thing I've learned after all this time, it's that those who fight for the Realms of Light, they always find a way to win, no matter how vile, vicious and all around evil my comrades try. Yes, Katrina's getting pretty close to winning, but she's setting herself up for a fall to end all falls."

"You are trying to confuse me," said The Lich, "I ask one last time; what are you doing here?"

"Wasting my time," said Regina, "all I can get out of this situation is pain, misery and a potentially terrible death, if I say. From what I can see, it's in my best interest to cut and run before it's too late." She then looked at The Lich, "oh, I'm sorry, you wanted to know what I was doing in this room. Well, why didn't you say so?"

"I did," said The Lich, "but…"

"Oh, don't mind me," said Regina, "I was just curious. And you really should learn to lock your workspace when not using it," she then looked at the boiling cauldron, "and never leave a cauldron unattended. The last thing you'd want is to set your workshop on fire, especially since you've got so many books and flammable items just lying about. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got arrangements to make." With that she strode out of the lab, leaving a rather confused Lich.

* * *

As she climbed the stairs to the upper levels of the castle, Regina felt at first giddy, then slightly disoriented as her adrenaline rush faded. She collapsed against the stairs as dizziness overcame her, realizing that she had just cheated death or worse.

Regaining her sense of balance and resuming her climb up, two thoughts occurred to Regina; that the time had indeed come to cut her losses and flee for her life, and that she would never, ever, forget the inhuman horror she saw inside the tank, a horror with the melded faces of Gaston and Lady Tremaine.

* * *

"Now are you sure this won't hurt her?" asked Bertold as he and Reiner stood to one side, while Insano prepared examined a sample of blood.

"Of course it won't," said Insano, "it didn't hurt when I took a saliva sample, and it barely pinched her when I took a blood sample. The most she'll feel is a little disoriented and weak from the loss of blood pressure. She'll be fine in a heartbeat."

"You guys," said a giddy Annie as she lay on a gurney, an IV tube running from her left arm to a half-full blood donor bag, while her right hand held a glass of orange juice with a bendy straw, "you guys, you've got to try this stuff! It's amazing!"

"Uh…no thank you, Annie," said Reiner nervously as he and Bertold looked at the glass of orange juice as if it were poison.

"The two of you act like you've never seen orange juice," said Insano, "which is understandable considering you barely have citrus fruits inside the walls. Honestly, why haven't your people all died from scurvy? Never mind, it's not like you backwoods buffoons understand the awe and beauty that is SCIENCE!"

"We understand that you're using Annie's blood to make more Titans," said Reiner, "but we don't know how? She's in her human form."

"Those bastards in Parzon had to keep her in her Titan form to get what they wanted," said Bertold, "what makes your science better than theirs?"

"Those primitive screw heads?! BAH!" snapped Insano, "I can run academic rings around the best Parzon scientists and keep running!"

"Oh…look at all the spinning lights!" said Annie, "I feel so floaty! There I go, floating away!"

"You're drugging her!" snapped Bertold, "you're twisting her mind!"

"As if your minds weren't already twisted by your doctrine of WOE," said Insano.

"'Woe?'" asked Reiner.

"'Wipe Out Everything,'" said Insano as he walked over and checked the blood bag, seeing that it was nearly full, "honestly, am I the only intelligent person in this whole wretched castle? There, that'll do it!" he closed off the blood bag, removed the IV needle from Annie's arm and bandaged it, "Now do anything strenuous for at least 24 hours and drink plenty of fluids."

"Just keep this stuff coming and I'll be happy," said Annie. She looked at Reiner and Bertold, "seriously, you two, you gotta try this! It's so sweet but not too sweet!"

"Okay, you're going to bed," said Reiner, "and stop drinking that stuff! It could be rotting your brain, for all we know."

"You just stick to your superstitious ways," said Insano as he brought the blood bag over to a complex machine, "see what it gets you."

"With luck, the extermination of mankind on our worlds," said Bertold, "and many others."

"Whatever," said Insnao, "I'm just the brains of the outfit, not like I'm getting anything material out of this endeavor.

But once the three traitorous youths were out of hearing, Insano began to giggle like the madman he was, "nothing, except supreme recognition of my genius and the power to rule the multi-verse!"

He inserted the blood bag into the machine and turned the device on. The blood was drained into the machine, twisting through tubes, passing through filters and infused with other chemicals, before entering a massive vat of other chemicals that glowed with evil lights.

"Soon, oh so soon," said Insano as the liquid pulsated with insidious energy. The madman looked on at the chemical reaction with vile glee, "yes, very soon, I shall have my own army of invincible Titan-Heartless hybrids! All shall tremble in terror at their encroaching footsteps! All shall quake in fear of being eaten alive! One by one the worlds of the multi-verse shall swear fealty, or face certain extinction! Soon, all shall bow down at the mere mention of the name; Doctor Insano!" he then laughed like the madman he was.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

Kairi sat at her desk in her office, going over various papers and documents needing her attention, yet her mind and heart were on other matters. She knew that she needed to keep working to protect her people and the realms, to keep her spirit and the spirits of those under her command up. Yet hope seemed a rare commodity these days.

Sighing with frustration, she leaned back in her chair, "I don't know how things could get worse," she said to herself, "but they will, I just know it."

Then came a knock on the door.

"I knew it," said Kairi. She then said louder, "whatever it is, I'm not here, understand?"

Quistis then walked in, "you'll want to hear this, highness."

"No I don't," said Kairi as she got up, "I'm going to my room and sleep through this crisis."

"It's not bad news for a change," said Quistis, "reinforcements have arrived."

"You got through those idiots at SeeD!" said Kairi in a more hopeful tone.

"Uh…not really," said Quistis, "they're still sitting on their heads back at HQ, but help is here, and they want to meet you personally; some of them actually know you."

"Really?" asked Kairi, "who are they?"

"They asked me to keep it a surprise," said Quistis, "but I know some of the others. I'll introduce you to them."

"Alright," said Kairi, "but I'm really not in the mood for conversation." With that she followed Quistis to the castle foyer, where in the middle of the room stood Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart.

"Oh, you guys," said Kairi, "I heard about you two from…from…"

"From Sora?" asked Cloud, "yeah, we heard what happened."

"Some evil spirit has possessed him or something," said Tifa, "don't worry, your grace, we'll get that thing out of him," she then balled up her fists, "even if I have to beat the crap out of him too do it. I might just do it anyway for kidnapping Aerith and Yuffie."

"And I'll make that creature pay for taking Selphie!" said Rinoa Heartily as she and her dog Angelo, walked through the front door, "Hi, Quistis."

"Glad you could come, Rinoa," said Quistis, "where are the others?"

"They're on their way from the spaceport," said Rinoa, "but I wanted to get here first. Is he…?"

"Squall? Oh, he's around," said Quistis, "probably hiding somewhere like the emo git he's always been."

"So you're Leon's old flame," said Kairi, "just what happened between you two?"

"We…I really don't want to talk about it," said Rinoa in an awkward tone as she put one hand on her other arm.

"RINOA!" shouted Zell from up the stairs. Leaping over the railing, he ran up to and swept Rinoa up in a spinning embrace, "oh, I missed you so much! It's been forever!"

"I missed you too, Zell," said Rinoa as he put her down, "where is he? We need to talk."

"Squall?" asked Zell, "probably with Irvine."

"I already saw Irvine on my way to the castle," said Rinoa, "now where is he? If you're covering for Squall, I'll…"

Just then in walked a girl about Kairi's age with long black hair and a very pronounced bust straining against a long-sleeved, short skirted dress. Tied to a belt around her waist was a Moogle-like voodoo doll. Also with her was a creature unlike anything Kairi had ever seen; an enormous feline humanoid with blue fur, a broken horn, white hair and beard and wielding a long pike.

"Hello? Is this the right place?" asked the girl, "they told us this was where we needed to go?"

"If you mean you're here to save The Realms of Light, then you're in the right place," said Quistis.

"Excellent," said the girl, "I'm Lulu, this is Kimahri Ronso," at that the cat creature, Kimahri, nodded in acknowledgement, in another time and place we were friends and allies with…"

"HEY YOU GUYS!" exclaimed Rikku as she, Yuna and Pain flew down from above and hovered in front of the newcomers.

"It's really you!" said Yuna as she hugged Lulu around the neck, then hugged Kimahri, "you really came!"

"Of course they came," said Pain, "the band's almost back together."

"That's right!" said Rikku, "all we need now is…"

"Is me," said Auron as he strode into the room.

"You really came, Sir Auron!" said Yuna, "but…you…"

"Were dead?" asked Auron, "technically I still am."

"But how'd you get out of The Underworld?" asked Cloud, "I thought Hades was giving you a hard time?"

"That so called god of The Underworld is stuck sulking in a prison of his own making," said Auron, "long story. Now, where's Tidus?"

"And where's that slacker of a husband of mine from another life?" asked Lulu, "we certainly have a lot of catching up to do."

"They're training with the new AT units," said a smiling Kairi, "wow, is this going to be a reunion to end all reunions. I can't thank you all enough for coming."

"Oh, they're not the only ones," said Quistis with a mischievous smile, "your 'stepparents' are here."

"My what?" asked Kairi, but then a very happy memory came to mind, "no, it can't…can it be? Where are they?"

"I'll show you," said Qusitis. Kairi followed her out of the castle, through the town and out onto the crystal wastes, where a large gathering of people was growing larger. Off to one side a wide circular area had been marked off, in which opened a portal. From the portal emerged more people, whom began mingling with the others.

"There," said Quistis as she pointed to one group of people. Kairi looked and saw to her delight was Kiriyaga Kazuto and Yuuki Asuna. With tears of joy in her eyes, Kairi ran up to her digital parents.

"You came!" said Kairi as she embraced Kazuto and Asuna, "you actually came!"

"We said we'd come if we could," said Asuna, "and we did, didn't we, Kirito-kun?"

"We certainly did," said Kazuto, "and it wasn't easy."

"But…I don't understand what you're doing here?" asked Kairi, "how are you going to fight? It's not like…"

"Like we can use our online powers and abilities?" asked Asuna with a cheeky smile, "it's all thanks to Kirito-kun and our friends, The Night Schollars."

"We figured out how to use our online avatars in the real world," said Kazuto, "long story."

"And here's another long story," said Merida as she strode up to Kairi, "and I'm gonna give it to that idiot Malcolm, so where is he?"

"It's complicated," said surprised Kairi, "how did you…?"

"She got here the same way we did," said Chihiro as she and Rapunzel walked up, "Alegra."

"She told us you were in trouble and we were needed," said Rapunzle, "the others are coming too."

"And we've got plenty of allies to fight the darkness," said Quistis, "just look."

Kairi looked at the gathering of people and realized she were seeing different versions of the same individuals. Max Kildare, Jill Sparrow, Leon Smyth-Falcon, Andrew Carpenter, Katina Jones and so many other Ramblers, some she hadn't met, others she did know but had different features.

"Alegra told us to gather an army," said one particular Max Kildare, the same one Aiden, Tess and Malcolm met in Enchancia, "and here we are, and more are coming to stop Katrina Spellman from enacting her evil plans."

"Thank you," said Kairi as the weight of despair lifted from her shoulder and hope poured back into her heart, "thank you all." Things were truly looking up.

* * *

 **…The Candy Kingdom…The Land of Ooo…**

"Well?" asked Riku, while Aiden, Tess and Malcolm, looked on earnestly.

"I think I can fix it," said Princess Bubblegum after emerging from the inner workings of The Intrepid Heart. Our heroes had brought their Gummy Ship to one of Princess Bubblegum's larger workshops to assess the ship's damages. "I can fix your ship's Dimensional Drive."

"Oh, thank goodness," said Sidney, "I did all I could while in orbit around Earth C-359, but I knew I had only one good dimensional jump. I'm just glad I wound up on a world with someone who knows what they're doing."

"I have to admit that you and your ship are beyond anything I've ever seen," said Princess Bubblegum as she wiped some grease from her hands, "and I've seen a lot. But I'm pretty sure I can fix you."

"How sure?" asked Aiden.

"And how long will it take?" asked Malcolm, "we're kinda in a hurry to get back home."

"I don't know how long," said Princess Bubblegum as she walked over to a workbench and began making notes, "there's a lot of parts to repair and replace, and then we need to test the engine before you make any dimensional jumps."

"Yeah, I'm sure we don't want to end up even further away from home," said Tess.

"Can't you guess how long?" asked Riku, "your best estimation."

"At least a day to get everything I need together," said Princess Bubblegum, "then maybe another day or so for the repairs, and then the testing…at least three days."

"By then Katrina and Darklight will have smashed open every Keyhole in The Realms!" said Tess, "there's got to be another way back home!"

"I agree," said Sidney, "I'll admit, I'll feel bad about you guys leaving so soon after I found you again, but you're needed, badly from what I've heard."

"I've already asked Pepbut and Solaris to research a portal spell that'll take you home," said Princess Bubblegum, "but finding the right universe takes time."

"Which is a luxury we don't have," said Riku.

Just then Lumpy Space Princess dashed into the workshop, "Oh my Glob, you guys!"

"Now what, LSP?" asked Princess Bubblgegum in an exasperated tone.

"More Heartless?" asked Riku, while Aiden, Tess and Malcolm tensed for trouble.

"No but it's bad! Really bad!" exclaimed Lumpy Space Princess, "you gotta come!" with that she dashed out of the room, with our heroes following.

In one of the many rooms of the castle they found Simon sitting in a chair with his crown in his hands, Marceline kneeling beside him, while off to one side stood Finn, Jake and Solaris, all of whom looked rather depressed.

"What's going on?" asked Princess Bubblegum.

"It's Simon, he's…" said Jake, "he's…"

"I'm going away," said Simon, "I can feel my sanity slipping again."

"No, Simon!" cried Marceline, "you can't go away again! You just got back!"

"I'm sorry, Marcy," said Simon, "but I don't have a choice." He held up the crown, "even if I were to throw this accursed item away, its power holds sway. It's pulling me back into the labyrinth. Believe me, I'm trying to fight it, but it's simply too powerful. In a few minutes, I'll be The Ice King again."

"But you can't go!" said Finn, "you just can't!"

"Don't let the crown rule your mind and soul!" said Marceline, "you're stronger than it! Solaris! Do something!"

"What do you think I'm doing?!" snapped Solaris as she stood with several books and scrolls hovering around her, "what I've tried to do for the past thousand years!? These are from my personal collections I've squirreled away across Ooo, a thousand years of various research projects, including finding a cure for my colleague and friend!"

She then let out a frustrated cry as she dashed the books and scrolls against the wall, "but there's nothing I can do! Nothing that won't make things worse!"

"Can't we go inside the crown again and try to fix it there?" asked Marceline, "we did it before?"

"It's worth a try," said Princess Bubblegum.

"Don't bother," said Simon, "the crown's defenses will deny you access. Even if you could get inside the labyrinth, any interference could be catastrophic, like what Betty did."

"Betty? Who's Betty?" asked Tess.

"His fiancée from before the Mushroom War," said Marceline as she wiped tears from her eyes, "we brought here through time, long story."

"And she wound up with Magic Man's magic," said Finn, "another long story."

"She also received Magic Man's madness," said Solaris, "I only met that jerk once and that was enough."

"She'll find her way out of her own labyrinth," said Simon as he stood up, while Marceline stood up as well, "just as I did and will again," he looked at Marceline, "as much as I want to be with Betty, I now know what to hold onto, what anchors me in the realm of sanity. You, Marcy; you're the daughter I never had."

"And you're the father I always wanted," said a tearful Marceline as she and Simon hugged, "I love you, I'll always love you."

"I'll always love you, Marcy," said Simon. But then the rational professor who delved too far in the supernatural was gone, replaced once again by the mad monarch with a princess obsession.

"Oh, hey, Marceline," said Ice King as he realized who was hugging him, "I thought you didn't feel that way about me. Then again, who am I to ignore free smooching?" He then bent down to kiss Marceline.

"Ugh! As if!" snapped Marceline as she shoved Ice King away, "wait, I'm sorry, Simon, I didn't mean…"

"Oh well, easy come, easy go," said Ice King with blissful oblivion, "Well, back to The Ice Kingdom before Gunther finishes breaking his secret stash of bottles and starts messing with my stuff. Toodles, everyone!" with that he flew out the window, whistling a random tune.

"Now there's a sad story if I ever seen one," said Malcolm.

"He'll be back," said Marceline in a hopeful tone, "he came back before." She finished wiping away her tears, "but that's for later. Right now we need to figure out how to get you guys back home."

"We can't leave yet," said Tess, "not with your stepfather still off the reservation."

"Oh, he'll be fine," said Marceline, "it's you guys who are needed back home. Besides," she looked at Riku, "we kinda have an unofficial bargain. You guys saved Ooo, so we help you save your worlds."

"That is kinda the understanding we had when I got here," said Riku.

"Don't worry, young Keyblade Wielders," said Solaris, "I'll find the right portal spell that'll get you home before…"

It was then that The Cosmic Owl popped in above our hero's heads.

"Sorry, Ms. Pretorius," said The Cosmic Owl, "but these younglings have a previous engagement."

"Cosmic Owl?" asked Finn, "what are you doing here?"

"Wait, is this a dream?" asked Jake, "oh Glob! This is a croak dream, isn't it!?"

"This is no dream, Jake," said Peppermint Butler gravely, "something rather drastic must have happened for The Cosmic Owl to appear in the waking world."

"It's pretty bad," said The Cosmic Owl, "Prismo's been trying to get in touch with you guys for days now."

"Prismo?" asked Finn, "he should have called us on the pickle jar."

"You've been running all over Ooo," said The Cosmic Owl.

"Oh yeah," said Finn, "we haven't been back to the treehouse for a while. So what does Prismo want to talk to us about?"

"He'll tell you himself," said The Cosmic Owl, "I'm just a messenger. He needs to talk to you two," he pointed at Finn and Jake, "and you," then at Riku, Tess, Malcolm and Aiden, "and you," he pointed at Marceline.

"What does Prismo want with them?" asked a concerned Solaris, "and…"

"I'm sorry, I can't stay any longer in this plane of waking existence," said The Cosmic Owl, "we need to go now."

"Wait, what…?" asked Princess Bubblegum, just as Finn, Jake and the others indicated by The Cosmic Owl, were teleported out along with said entity.

"Ugh, I hate it when that happens," said Princess Bubblegum.

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"Uh, rude much?" asked Marceline after she and the others found themselves in the trans-dimensional center of everything. "Hey, owl boy? Didn't anyone tell you it was impolite to teleport anyone against their will?"

"I didn't do anything but give the message," said The Cosmic Owl.

"It was my fault," said Prismo, the sight and sound of said two-dimensional godlike being startled Marceline and the Keyblade Wielders.

"Hey, Prismo!" said Finn.

"Hi, guys!" said Prismo, "here you go, Jake!"

At that a jar of pickles materialized in front of Jake.

"Oh, you know me so well," said a delighted Jake as he opened the jar.

"Uh, where exactly are we?" asked a confused Riku.

"My place," said Prismo, "The Time Room, the center of the multi-verse."

"Wow!" said Aiden as he, Tess and Malcolm looked out a window onto the void.

"So you're Finn and Jake's friend," said Marceline to Prismo, "we meet at last. But what gives? Why'd ya' bring us here?"

"Yeah, not that we're not glad to see you, Prismo," said Finn, "but what's going on?"

"And why bring us?" asked Aiden.

"It's complicated," said Prismo, "and a long story. Fortunately, I've prepared a summary for you all." His big screen TV turned on and showed Finn and Jake battling Farmworld Finn wearing the crown of The Ice King and The Lich possessing Farmworld Jake.

"Remember when I called you guys to go to this other world to help your alternate self and stop an alternate Lich?" asked Prismo. The video then fast-forwards to The Lich inserting the jewels of power into The Enchiridion and using it to open a portal to another dimension.

"Yeah, we remember that," said Jake between pickle bites, "that other me is so stupid."

"You do remember what happens here, right?" asked Prismo as the video showed Finn's grass arm cutting off part of The Lich's arm, which landed on Jake. Disgusted, Jake shoved the arm into the portal. The arm split into countless copies and vanished into other dimensions.

"Uh…yeah, I remember that part," said Jake sheepishly, "did I make things worse?"

"Yes and no," said Prismo as the video stopped, "fragments of The Lich were scattered across the multi-verse. Fortunately, most of the pieces remained inert upon arrival, while a few, about a dozen or so, contained some of his undead essence and are either regenerating into complete forms of The Lich, or have found hosts to possess.

"But I'm talking about one particular fragment of The Lich, a fragment that found itself in The Möbius Continuum."

"That place again," said Riku, "I hope that piece of The Lich floats there forever."

"Unfortunately, it didn't," said Prismo, "it found a host, and by a cruel twist of fate, you guys know that host."

The TV now showed Sora encountering and possessed by The Lich, who then opened a portal back to The Realms of Light with its corrupted Keyblade.

"Gods be damned," said a shocked and horrified Aiden, while Tess, Malcolm and Riku looked equally disturbed, "that…that can't be Sora, it just can't be."

"It is," said Prismo, "and now he's running amuck in your dimension, doing who knows what evil mischief."

"Then let's go stop him!" said Riku, "now before that thing inside him makes him destroy The Realms!" at that Aiden, Tess and Malcolm nodded in agreement.

"Uh…I'm sorry," said Prismo, "but you can't go there, not yet anyway."

"We can't?" asked Tess.

"Nope, you can't," said Prismo.

"And why the hell not?!" demanded Malcolm.

"You're all here because you need to think things clearly before leaping into battle," said Prismo. The TV now showed multiple videos of our heroes battling Katrina, Darklight and The Lich.

"Each of these is a potential future," said PRismo, "each one showing what might happen, and believe me, none of them end up well."

True enough, the different futures all showed our heroes killed in one horrific way or another. Some of them showed our heroes killed by Darklight, some by Katrina herself, while many showed The Lich killing and resurrecting our heroes to serve its unholy will.

"Any one of these potential futures will come true," said Prismo, "if you all act rashly. You all need to think things out before returning to the fight."

"We did kinda get our butts handed to us last time we fought Darklight," said Malcolm.

"But we've grown stronger and wiser since then," said Tess, "We can take that evil bitch."

"A godlike being like you should know that the future isn't set," said Riku to Prismo, "'there is no fate but what we make.'"

"True," said Prismo, "but I still advise caution. The combination of Darklight, Katrina and The Lich, along with the other villains, it's all something you shouldn't take lightly"

"Wait as second," said Jake, "can't you just wish this mess away?"

"Yeah, you do grant wishes, Prismo," said Finn. He then looked at Riku and the others, "just wish the baddies away."

"I wouldn't do that!" said Prismo urgently.

"But you do grant wishes?" asked Riku.

"Yes, one wish per person," said Prismo, "but all my wishes end up with an ironic twist. If you wish rashly, anything could go wrong, especially with something as unpredictable as The Lich involved."

"But you can grant us our wishes if we ask," said Aiden, "so we'll keep that as a last resort."

"Can you at least show us what's going on back in The Realms right now?" asked Tess, "I'll bet Kairi's a nervous wreck."

"That I can do," said Prismo as the TV now showed Kairi greeting the many alternate versions of The Ramblers, as well as other heroes gathered across time and space.

"That's a lot of Meta-Humans," said an impressed Riku.

"Alegra said to build an army," said Malcolm.

"Hey! That's Eren!" said Tess as the screen showed Eren Yeager and his fellow Survey Corps push past the throngs of mingling Meta-Humans to meet Kairi.

"What are they saying?" asked Tess as she and the others saw Kairi talk to Eren, Mikasa and Armin.

"Oh, sorry," said Prismo, "I had it on mute." With that he turned the sound back on the TV.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"So, you guys were with Aiden, Tess and Malcolm?" asked Kairi.

"Yeah," said Eren, "and we have our own way of fighting the enemy."

"By now Katrina is making her own Titans," said Mikasa, "you'll find out what those are soon enough."

"They're giant humanoids that do nothing but walk around and eat people," said Kazuto as he walked up, "I should know, I read the manga and watched both the anime and the movies."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" asked Armin, "and how do you know about Titans?"

"It's a long story," said Kazuto, "I'm just glad to meet some of my favorite characters," he then shook Eren's hand, "especially The Rogue Titan, have you learned how to harden your Titan body yet?"

"Uh…yeah, I did," said Eren, "and we've developed new Anti-Titan weapons. But how do you know about that? Who are you?"

Before Kazuto could answer, in dashed Tidus, "Big trouble, Kairi!" he shouted breathlessly, "there's been…there's been…an accident…at the…ammunition plant!"

"Oh great!" said an exasperated Kairi, "now what?"

"Trouble at an ammo factory?!" shouted one of the Leon Smyth-Falcon alternates, "Let's go, heroes!" with that the many versions of The Ramblers all dashed off to save the day.

"Uh, none of them know where the factory is," said Tidus.

"I know where it is," said Kairi, "let's go!" With that she, Tidus, Kazuto, Eren, Armin and Mikasa, hurried back towards the town.

A recently built district housed the weapons plant designated for manufacturing ammunition for the AT units, and a cloud of smoke was rising from the factory.

"I don't know how it happened, but a fire started," said Tidus, "and the sprinkler system isn't working."

"That place is full of gunpowder!?" exclaimed Eren, "you've got to get everyone out of there before…"

That's as far as Eren got before a massive explosion went off in the factory, followed by smaller explosions as the finished ammunition cooked off.

"Come on!" shouted Kairi as she dashed towards the factory, only to be stopped by Leon and Quistis.

"Don't go in there!" shouted Leon as he held Kairi back.

"The factory's already been evacuated," said Quistis, "everyone's out, I hope."

"I hope so too," said Kairi. She then looked at Leon, "oh, your ex is looking for you."

"I know," said Leon sheepishly.

It was then that the factory foreman hurried up to Quistis with bad news.

"There's still people in there," said Quistis, "two are unaccounted for."

"Someone's gotta go in there," said Kairi, just as more explosions went off.

"I wouldn't go in there if you handed me the ultimate Titan killing weapon," said Mikasa, "well, maybe Eren would, but he's not that stupid…Eren? EREN!"

Kairi and the others looked and saw Eren dashing towards the factory, only to be stopped by a burst of flames from the factory entrance. But something startled Eren with confusion.

Emerging from the flames was a tall, lean, well-muscled, bald man, carrying two unconscious factory workers on his shoulders. He handed one of them to Eren and together they got safely away from the burning factory.

"They're alive, thank God," said Kairi as she met Eren and the bald stranger, examining the unconscious workers and began healing their burns, "thank you, Eren," she looked at the stranger, "and thank you, whoever you are. If there's anything I can do, anyway I can repay you, name it."

"That's alright," said the stranger nonchalantly as he looked down at Kairi with wide eyes and a simple smile, "it was the right thing to do, no need to reward me."

"Well, you still have my gratitude," said Kairi as she stood up, "now let me look at your…" she frowned, "wait, you're not hurt, not even singed a bit, except for your hair."

"I went bald a while back," said the stranger, "and I can't feel pain. It's alright, it takes a whole lot more than a burning ammo factory to hurt me."

"Wish I could say the same for Eren," said Kazuto as he saw Eren slapped around by Mikasa for his reckless bravery.

"Well, I still want to thank you," said Kairi as she held out her hand, "a man like you is more than welcome to help in any way he can."

"I'm glad to be here," said the stranger, "and I came here to help, at least I think I did, that random portal I fell through kinda fizzed up my memories a bit. I'm Saitama, a hero for fun."

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"Yeah, random portals happen sometimes," said Jake.

"At least Kari's alright," said Riku.

"And she's got plenty of friends to help," said Tess, "but what about Katrina? What's she up to?"

"I'll show you," said Prismo as the TV showed clips of Katrina and Darklight cracking open nine Keyholes and flooding those worlds with darkness.

"Ugh! Nasty!" said Malcolm.

The TV now showed Katrina and Regina standing in a workshop, facing Cid as he stood surrounded by tools and components, while off to one side stood Yuffie, Selphie and Aerith.

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"Work faster," said Katrina.

"I can't go any faster!" said Cid, "not if you want yer damned Sampo built right."

"I wand it done faster!" said Katrina, "and you'll do it faster if you want your friends to remain safe. Regina?"

Sighing with frustration, Regina summoned the boxes containing the three girls' hearts. She took out one of the hearts and whispered into it.

Yuffie suddenly kneed Aerith in the stomach, doubling her over, just as Regina whispered something into another heart.

Selphie grabbed Aerith's long hair and twisted it around Yuffie's neck, strangling her.

"Stop it!" shouted Cid, "I'll work faster, just stop hurting them!"

"Regina?" asked Katrina, at which Regina whispered into Selphies' heart. Selphie released Yuffie from the hair noose.

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"Turn it off!" cried Tess, "TURN IT OFF!"

"Stop the tape, Prismo!" said Finn as he saw how anguished Riku, Tess, Aiden and Malcolm were.

"I'm sorry," said Prismo as the TV turned off, "I didn't realize how much that would hurt you."

"Oh, we're more than hurt," said Malcolm, "we're pretty freaking pissed off!"

"I'm gonna kill them!" said Tess, "I'm gonna kill that evil blond bitch! Then I'm gonna rip out Regina's heart and torture her with it!"

"No, we're doing none of that!" said Riku, "Prismo's right, we need to think this through."

"We need a plan," said Aiden thoughtfully, "a gods damned good one at that. If only we knew what Katrina's endgame was? What does she want with The Sampo?" He then smiled as an idea struck, "Prismo, can you show us a specific future event?"

"Depends on which future you're looking for," said Prismo, "the future is always in flux, but I think I know what you want to see, hang on."

The TV now showed different alternate futures, before zooming in on one particular timeline.

"This is my best guess as to what will happen if Katrina has her way," said Prismo, "with twelve shattered Keyholes and twelve worlds drowned in darkness."

The TV happily showed Katrina happily walking through the corridors of Castle Oblivion, with Darklight, Young Xehanort, Regina, Dr. Insano and The Lich in tow.

Katrina walked into the workshop. Cid, a look of exhausted defeat on his face, stood next to a large construct shining with magic. The object was beautiful, save for the glowing red horn of King Sombra fused to it.

"There's your precious Sampo, you evil witch," said Cid, "now let my friends go!"

"After I have what I want," said Katrina. She then zapped herself, her vile allies, Cid and The Sampo to the tallest tower in the castle, blasting away the roof.

Katrina then summoned a large red ruby and placed it on a stone plinth a few yards from The Sampo. Flexing her hands, Katrina began a spell that channeled twelve streams of darkness from across the realms.

The video fast-forward as Katrina channeled the darkness into The Sampo, eventually resuming as The Sampo, glowing as evilly as Sombra's horn, shot a beam of dark magic into the ruby.

Katrina then cast another spell, calling forth from her heart a piece of twisted light. She then merged the light with the ruby, turning it black and causing it to glow dark purple.

"It is accomplished," said Katrina as she picked up the corrupted ruby and held it aloft, "it's finally mine! The Gem of Immortality is mine!"

"Gem of immortality?" asked Finn as the clip ended, "I thought she was already immortal kinda."

"There's different levels of immortality," said Marceline, "and different ways of overcoming it."

"Just what is this Gem of Immortality?" asked Tess, "what makes it so special?"

"As long as she has it, she's invincible," said Malcolm in a defeated tone, "guys, we're seriously screwed."

"Why?" asked Riku, "what do you know, Malcolm.

"It's an old, old legend from The Magical Dimension," said Malcolm, "more like a bedtime story, but it's true after all. On a world called Sosaria there once was a warlock named Mondain. He stole the Sunstone Ruby, an item of good, and corrupted it with his twisted soul, thereby making him invincible."

"Then The Gem of Immortality is like a Horcrux," said Riku, remembering the stories of the rise and fall of Voldemort at the hands of Harry Potter and his fellow witches and wizards.

"We gotta destroy that thing," said Tess.

"We can't," said Malcolm, "as long as she holds it in her hands, Katrina's untouchable. I'm serious, you guys, we're screwed."

 **The End of Chapter 6.**

 _Next chapter finds Riku and the others helpless as they watched Katrina's assault on Radiant Garden begin. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	8. Chapter 7: The Battle of Radiant Garden

_Last time found things beginning to look up for Kairi as allies from across The Multi-Verse arrived to help defend Radiant Garden against Katrina's impending assault. Meanwhile on Ooo, The Keyblade Wielder's planned return to The Realms of Light was interrupted as they were 'invited' by Prismo to visit The Time Room. There, they learned that they were to be held in The Time Room for an unknown length of time, all the while observing events unfolding in The Realms, culminating in a glimpse of the future revealing Katrina's overall goal; the forging of The Gem of Immortality. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 7: The Battle of Radiant Garden**

… **The Time Room…**

"Okay, we've got to go," said Riku to Tess, Aiden and Malcolm. He then looked at Prismo, "thank you for showing us Katrina's end game, but we really need to go stop her."

"I'm afraid you can't leave yet," said Prismo.

"What do you mean we can't leave yet?!" demanded Tess, "you heard what Malcolm said, if Katrina gets The Gem of Immortality, she'll be invincible!"

"This is serious, Prismo," said Finn, "Riku and the others need to go."

"And they will," said Prismo, "but at the right time. Remember," the TV now showed our heroes the many potential outcomes ending in defeat, some more painful than others, "if you act in haste, you'll only hasten your own demise."

"But you yourself said that the future isn't set," said Aiden, "none of these outcomes are set in stone. You know, why am I even bothering? We can just open our own portal back to Radiant Garden." He summoned his Keyblade, only to have it vanish before he could do anything with it, "what the…? That's never happened before," he tried summoning his Keyblade again and got the same result.

"What the hell?!" shouted Tess after she, Riku and Malcolm summoned their Keyblades, only to watch as they vanished, "what's going on?!"

"Wait a second," said Jake suspiciously, "are you doing this, Prismo?"

"Only because I have to," said Prismo.

"You're stopping us from using our Keyblades?" asked an outraged Riku, "why? How?"

"I'll explain why later," said Prismo, "as for how, it's because I want to."

"Of course, he's basically a living god," said Malcolm, "he can do pretty much whatever he wants."

"But he still has to grant us each a wish, right?" asked Tess. She then looked at Prismo, "I wish you let us use our Keyblades again and allow us to leave!"

"Technically that's two wishes," said Prismo, "and I can't grant either one."

"Why the frak not?!" demanded Aiden, "is it because you're worried about the ironic twist? Believe me, we've dealt with irony plenty of times."

"I'm doing it because someone else wished that I keep you here," said Prismo.

"Someone wished that we stay here?" asked Tess, "oh, I get it, I know who…"

"This is bull crap!" shouted Riku, "you have to let us go! We need to get back to Kairi before it's too late!"

"We have to stop Katrina before she and the other baddies make their move," said Aiden.

"They already have," said Prismo, "time is relative, especially when you're in The Time Room. Look."

The TV showed Kairi hurrying to Ansem's workshop. Clearly some time had passed on Radiant Garden, due to Kairi's changed outfit and the rested look she had from a good night's sleep.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"I really hope you have good news, Ansem," said Kairi as walked into Ansem's study.

"For once I do, your grace," said Asnem as he stood in front of his Interocitor, adjusting the internal mechanisms of the device, "I believe I have finally discovered the means of locating the enemy."

"You do?!" exclaimed Kairi as she pulled out her smart phone to text everyone the good news.

"Indeed," said Ansem as he finished modifying The Interocitor and replacing the side panel, "at long last, we shall know the location of Castle Oblivion." He plugged the machine back in, waited for it to warm up and turned the Intensifier Disk 18° to the left.

The triangular screen blurred before focusing on an area of seemingly empty space.

"Wow, what a surprise, it's not there," said Donald sarcastically as he, King Mickey, Goofy, Leon, Quistis, Tidus, Wakka and several others, crowded behind Kariri to look at The Interocitor.

"How did you all get here so quickly?" asked Ansem.

"I asked them to come," said Kairi as she held up her smart phone, while The King and the others held up theirs.

"You really should get one of these, Ansem," said King Mickey, "they'll change your life."

"I'm perfectly fine with my own devices, old friend," said Ansem, "now please let me work," he turned the Intensifier Disk another 18°. The screen blurred and focused on a large asteroid floating in space. A third turn of the Disk zoomed the screen in, revealing a multi-towered castle, some of said towers pointing sideways.

"There you are," said Aqua as she stood next to Kairi, startling her and everyone else, "not where I left you, but there just the same."

"How'd you get here?" asked Kairi.

"And where have you been?" asked an irate Wakka, "you know we really could have used your help for…I don't know…since this whole stinking mess with smashed Keyholes and evil witches got started!"

"I'm sorry, everyone," said Aqua, "I've been training, preparing for this very moment." She pointed at the image of Castle Oblivion, "because if that really is Castle Oblivion, and if Xehanort is there in his new, younger body, then at last, after so many years, I finally have the chance to save Terra and Ventus."

Before Kairi or anyone else could inquire further, the screen on The Interocitor blurred again, zooming further on Castle Oblivion.

"Now what are you doing?" asked Kairi.

"I am attempting to see within the castle," said Ansem, "if we're lucky, we'll be able to spy on Katrina and her cohorts."

"That'd be a change," said Quistis, "the enemy's been spying on us, might as well give them a taste of their own medicine. See if you can find Cid while you're at it."

"And find Yuffie, Selphie and Aerith if it's not too much trouble," said Leon.

"If they've hurt any of them I'll…I'll…I'll…" said a flustered Yuna as she sat on Tidus's shoulder.

"Half a moment," said Ansem as he a secondary control mechanism to focus The Interocitor, "there's…ah…I see, the enemy has their own espionage countermeasures, no doubt set up by Xehanort or one of his alternates. He always was clever," he adjusted the controls, "but so am I."

The screen blurred, then focused on Katrina observing Cid working on The Sampo, while Aerith, Selphie and Yuffie, sat miserably nearby.

"They're okay," said a relieved Tidus, while the others also sighed with ease.

"So that's The Sampo," said King Mickey as he and the others saw what Cid was putting together.

"Doesn't look that evil," said Donald.

"It's what Katrina's gonna use it for that's evil," said Quistis, "we've got to get over there and stop this."

"What about Darklight?" asked Kairi, "is she cracking another Keyhole?"

Ansem made another adjustment and the screen showed Darklight in a simple bedroom, laying on a bed, reading a book of depressing poetry.

"Well, at least she's not hurting anyone right now," said Kairi.

"Let's see what my former apprentice is up to," said Ansem as he adjusted the controls again, now focusing on the room where Young Xehanort and his fellow villains sat and watched their Interocitor.

"There's nobody there," said Quistis, "try another room."

But then on the screen, our heroes and allies saw Young Xehanort walk into the room.

"Okay, who left The Interocitor on?" asked Young Xehanort, "wait a second," he walked towards the screen, "no…no!"

"I think he sees us, man," said Wakka.

"Uh DUH!" said Rikku with an accompanying braying donkey sound.

On the screen, our heroes saw Regina and Sephiroth teleport into the room.

"Okay, what's with the emergency psychic SOS?" asked Regina as she clutched her forehead, "I can feel a migraine coming on and…" she looked at the screen, "oh, well, isn't this unexpected."

"Xehanort!" shouted Aqua, "give Terra his body back!"

"Is that you, Aqua?" asked Young Xehanort, "you don't look a day older than I thought you were dead."

"Get out of Terra's body!" shouted Aqua, "I'm gonna come over there and rip you out with my bare hands!"

"Well, well, well," said a cruelly smiling Young Xehanort, "who would have thought you were capable of such dark thoughts. I should have picked you to manipulate instead of your boyfriend. As for your other boyfriend, you don't have to worry about Ventus, I won't use him to make the _X_ -Blade. No, I'll just destroy his worthless body as soon as I find it."

At that Aqua looked ready to explode with unbridled rage, only for Quistis and Kairi to pull her away from The Interocitor.

"I should have turned you away when I had the chance," said Ansem, "I should have known when you first came to my door, the pure evil residing in your heart."

"You of all people should know that darkness isn't always evil," said Young Xehanort, "but I must agree, you should never have allowed me access to your research. But that's in the past and the future is within my grasp."

"And what exactly are you reaching for?" asked Ansem, "if not The X-Blade and the secrets of Kingdom Hearts, then what?"

"Oh, I still seek the power of Kingdom Hearts," said Young Xehanort, "and there are other ways of achieving The _X_ -Blade, but I have other ambitions to pursue. You see…"

Just then Katrina zapped herself into the room, "this had better be good," she said irately, "I'm supervising The Sampo and the last thing I need is distractions, and I'm already in a bad mood."

"You want me to torture those girls again so Cid will work faster?" asked Regina.

"No, I just have this stupid song stuck in my head," said Katrina, "this horrible song from high school that everyone else loved but I hated it…

 _'Shake your whammy fanny_

 _Funky Song, Funky Song_

 _Shake your whammy fanny_

 _Fun-un-ky Song!'_

"It's so stupid! I can't get it out of my head, it's driving me crazy!"

Katrina then saw what was on The Interocitor, "oh, wow, all of a sudden my head's clear."

"They can see us," said Young Xehanort.

"I know," said Katrina.

"And no doubt they know where we are," said Sephiroth.

"I figured as much," said Katrina, "so do something about it!" She then walked up to the screen, while Young Xehanort manipulated his own secondary control device.

"Now listen to me," said Katrina coldly to Kairi and the others, "there's nothing you can do to stop me. I will have what I want, it's inevitable!"

"Nothing's inevitable!" shouted Kairi as she rushed up to the screen, "we will stop you, no matter the cost!"

"You might want to reconsider that," said Katrina, "because I'm willing to match any cost you can put up! Then again, why take chances!?"

She then zapped Darklight into the room.

"What the hell?!" demanded the dark Keyblade Wielder, "I was just getting to the really gloomy part!"

"You can read all the gloom and doom you want later," said Katrina, "it's time to end this mess. Forget about the dartboard of The Realms! Your next target is Radiant Garden's Keyhole!"

Darklight looked at Katrina, then at Kairi through The Interocitor, then back at Darklight, "okay."

"'Okay?'" asked a slightly confused Katrina, "that's it? No whining or complaints? No depressingly witty remarks? Just 'okay?'"

"That's right," said Darklight, "okay."

"Well, alright then," said Katrina, "we'll go as soon as we're ready."

"I'd enjoy what little time you have left, Ansem," said Young Xehanort, "for the light will shine on Radiant Garden for the last time." He then pressed a button on his control device.

Kairi, Ansem and the others then heard their Interocitor hum loudly.

"He's overloading it!" shouted Ansem. An instant later the room erupted in chaotic panic as everyone tried to get out, only to jam at the doorway.

The Interocitor then exploded, but the blast was contained, restrained by a barrier spell from Aqua's Keyblade.

"Everyone alright?" asked Aqua as she kept the barrier up to hold back the smoke from the ruined Interocitor, "Kairi, you alright?"

"I'm fine," said Kairi as the others calmed form their panic, "that's two I owe you."

"We'll settle accounts later," said Aqua, "not when there's so much trouble on the way."

"She's right," said King Mickey, "they're coming to crack open The Keyhole, and after everything that's happened, I don't know if we can stop them."

"We may not have to," said Quistis thoughtfully.

"What are you saying?" asked Tidus, "that we should just let them walk all over us and destroy the world?"

"And the rest of the Realms with it," added Yuna.

"Not at all," said Quistis, "I think we may have an opportunity."

"To do what?" asked Wakka, "other than stick our heads between our legs and kiss our collective butts goodbye."

"We're wasting time," said Leon, "we've got to get ready for them. They'll be here any minute!"

"We will get ready," said Quistis, "not just to defend, but to attack! We finally know where Castle oblivion is. We could send a strike team to infiltrate that place and hit the enemy while they're focused on us."

"That's…a good idea," said Kairi.

"I disagree, your grace," said Ansem, "we cannot leave the world shorthanded, and you without your protectors."

"Have you seen just how many heroes have arrived, old bear?" asked Quistis, "and more keep coming. Trust me, Queen Kairi has more than enough protectors."

"And he'll have us," said King Mickey, "whatever Darklight tries, we'll be ready for her. But who'll go to Castle Oblivion?"

"There'll be no shortage of volunteers, no doubt," said Leon, "count me in."

"And me," said Rinoa as she and Lulu walked in, causing Leon and Wakka to flinch in fear, "and the best part, my Gummy Ship has a cloaking device. We'll sneak up on the enemy and take them by surprise," she looked at Leon, "just like you're surprised to see me too, Squall."

"Uh…Rinoa…I…" faulted Leon.

"When this is over, Squall," said Rinoa, "we're going to have a very long, very serious talk."

"Same with me, husband," said Lulu to a henpecked Wakka.

"You can worry about that later," said Kairi, "get going before the baddies get here, or worse, try to move Castle Oblivion again."

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"Move the castle?" asked Young Xehanort, "impossible!"

"Why not!?" asked an irate Regina, "they know we're here! It's only a matter of time before they try something crazy and stupid like…I don't know…ATTACKING THE DARKNESS?!"

"They won't get the chance," said Katrina, "as soon as I have everything I need in place, Radiant Garden's Keyhole will…"

"Yes, we know, you'll smash it open," said Regina, "and Kairi and hers know too. They're getting ready for you right now."

"Which is why I'll soften up their forces before actually going after The Keyhole," said Katrina, "I'm not that clueless."

"Oh yeah?" asked Regina, "have you seen what they're doing on Radiant Garden?" she walked over to The Interocitor and turned the Intensifier Disk.

"Don't touch it!" said Young Xehanort, "you don't even know how to use it!"

'Yet another reason why I need to leave,' thought Regina as the screen blurred and showed the sheer masses of Meta Humans and other heroes arriving on Radiant Garden via portals, "No respect!"

The screen then showed the new AT units readied for action.

"Who knows what other defenses they have that we haven't spied out yet?" asked Regina, "believe me, this isn't something we can simply throw a horde of Heartless at."

Just then Zotarius zapped himself into the room, "Which is why I, Zotarius, am here!"

"Gee, I completely forgot about you," said Regina.

"You forgot about me?!" asked a shocked and outraged Zotarius, "I, Zotarius the Despoiler! Summoner of a thousand demons! Ravager of ten-thousand worlds! Shatterer of…"

"That's enough," said Katrina coldly, silencing Zotarius, "now, what have you been doing? And do you have anything that can help me get past that?" she pointed at the images of AT Units and heroes on Radiant Garden.

"Do I have anything?" asked Zotarius, "Do I have anything! Of course I have something!" he summoned his grimoire, "I have summoning spells for upper-level demons from across the multi-verse, not to mention I can call upon the Ancient Spirits of Evil to enhance my magic and…"

"Just start your summoning already," said Katrina, "now, INSANO!" she then zapped in the goggled mad scientist.

"Don't do that!" snapped Insano, "I was in the middle of a critical experiment with my new Titan Heartless hybrids!"

"Can they fight?" asked Katrina.

"Well…of course they can fight," said Insano, "I mean, they will fight as soon as they're ready. I should have the first batch fully formed in two days, three if you want maximum effect."

"I don't have two or three days to wait for a batch of abominations to cure!" snapped Katrina. She waved her fighter up and zapped off a spell, "there, I just accelerated your creature's growth. They'll be ready to go by the time you get back to your lab."

"Now wait just a moment!" said Insano irately, "you can't just go around tweaking science with magic!"

"I can and will if it'll get me what I want!" said Katrina, "now go," she held up her finger, "before I turn you into a random piece of fruit!"

"I always fancied him as a rutabaga," said Regina, "no, wait, that's a vegetable."

"I can do vegetables," said Katrina.

"I'm going, already!" said Insano, "but I highly disapprove of this corruption of SCIENCE!"

"Whatever," said Katrina. She looked at Zotarius, whom had drawn a detailed magic circle on the floor and was setting up candles and magic items, "and you…"

"I'm summoning!" said Zotarius as he sat in the circle with his grimoire in his lap, "it'll take a while for each summoning and I don't know how long exactly. If you rush a summoning, terrible things will happen."

"I don't need to be told that," said Katrina, "I know terrible things. Now," she looked at Sephiroth, Regina and Young Xehanort, "as for you lot…"

"So long as one of us stays here to monitor the castle's defenses, nothing can get in," said Young Xehanort, "we're just deciding who gets the lucky job." At that he, Regina and Sephiroth drew straws, with Sephiroth drawing the short one.

"It seems I get to sit and watch you all have all the fun," said Sephiroth.

"We'll save you a piece of the action," said Regina, "maybe bring a doggy bag back."

"Splendid," said Katrina, "now all that leaves is you," she looked at Darklight, "are you ready, young lady?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," said Darklight, "what about him?"

"Him who?" asked Katrina as Darklight pointed behind her. Katrina turned around and jumped in surprise at the sight of The Lich, "oh, him, yes, of course, what shall…"

"I shall accompany you," said The Lich, "I wish to observe this battle first hand."

"No problem there," said Katrina, "now, unless there's anything else…"

"There's me!" shouted Dio Brando as he walked in, his head atop a living nightmare of amalgamated body parts both human, animal and mechanical.

"Great balls of hellfire!" exclaimed Regina.

"What happened to you?" asked Young Xehanort.

"I'll tell you what happened," said an irate Dio Brando. He pointed a crab-caw of a hand at Sephiroth, "this asshole and the goggled asshole left me for dead!"

"You were dead!" snapped Sephiroth, "well, technically you've always been dead, but…"

"Yeah, I know, my body was destroyed and my head captured by those alchemist assholes," said Dio Brando, "but you left me to be dissected and tortured for information!"

"Did you?" asked Katrina, "did you give The State Alchemist any information?"

"Oh please, who do you think you're talking to?" asked Dio Brando, "there's no torture I can't endure! I told those cocksuckers nothing!"

"Then how pray tell did you escape?" asked Young Xehanort.

"And where'd you get that nightmare of a body?" asked Regina.

"It was the best I could get my Stand on," said Dio Brando, "don't ask me how, but even without my body, I could still use my Stand. I killed the guards in the lab I was stuck in, then hypnotized the Alchemists studying me into building me a new body. After that I drained them of their blood and took the nearest Dark Corridor back."

"Well, we're glad that you are back," said Young Xehanort, "so…"

"So now I take my frustration out on those pricks and cunts on Radiant Garden," said Dio Brando. He looked at Katrina, "Whatever your plan is, I'm in."

"In that case," said a viciously smiling Katrina, "welcome aboard."

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"Isn't there anything we can do?" asked Riku as he and Tess sat on a couch provided by Prismo, watching the big screen TV.

"Can't we help our friends at all?" Riku asked Prismo, said godlike being sitting in his hot tub with Jake and Cosmic Owl, with Cosmic Owl and Aiden playing a complex board game. Finn and Marceline sat on another couch, with Finn enjoying a sandwich and Marceline several red objects.

"Just accept it, man," said Jake, "we're stuck here until Prismo says we can go, so enjoy it!" he then held up a bowl full of pickles.

"I have to admit," said Malcolm as he sat in a beanbag chair with several books of magic around him, "for a prison, it's not that bad. Our jailer has access to works of magic beyond anything I've ever dreamed of."

"And some far out alchemy essays," said Aiden as he pointed to pile of magazines nearby, "it's your move," he said to The Cosmic Owl.

"I just wish we could do more than sit and watch our friends get slaughtered," said Riku, "a thousand deaths aren't enough for whoever wished us here."

"I'm telling you I know who did it," said Tess, "and if you can't guess, then I guess you're not as smart as you think you are."

"I really don't care who did it," said Riku, "even if it is who I think it is. I just want to help our friends back home; if only to warn them that the enemy is coming!"

"Oh, they know already," said Prismo, "take a look."

The TV fast-forward several hours on Radient Garden, showing Kairi leading the preparations for the coming battle, then showed Tidus, Wakka, Auron, Lulu, Kimhri, The Gullwings, Cloud, Tifa, Leon, Quistis, Zell, Irvine and Rinoa boarding Rinoa's Gummy Ship. It took off and cloaked as it left orbit, just as the first wave of Heartless and demons attacked.

Riku and the others could only watch as wave after wave of fell creatures assaulted the brave defenders of Radiant Garden, the combined forces of light holding firm against the relentless assault. The majority of the fighting was taken up by the many alternate Ramblers, the multiple Meta-Humans utilizing their powers and abilities to demolish the offending demons and Heartless like tissue paper.

The alternate Ramblers weren't alone; squads of AT pilots used heavy machineguns, laser riffles, grenade launchers and other weapons, even the bare fists of their mechas, to pulverize the attacking creatures, all of which in effort to keep the enemy from reaching the castle and securing the way to The Keyhole.

The TV then focused on Kairi and King Mickey atop one of the castle towers. Flanked by a dozen bodyguards, Kairi also stood with Kazuto and Asuna as the two gamers pulled on strange harnesses with circuitry and micro-hologram projectors.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"So…how do these thingamajigs work?" asked The King as he, Donald and Goofy looked at the harnesses.

"It's complicated," said Kazuto as he and Asuna checked the connections and circuitry on their harnesses, "you'd need several doctorates in computer science, quantum physics and a whole lot of supernatural subjects."

"It's basically a mix of ancient magic and advanced technology," said Asuna, "it allows us to 'transform' into our online avatars and use all their powers and abilities." She smiled at Kazuto, "and Kirito-kun discovered how to do it."

"By accident," corrected Kazuto, "then again, a lot of major discoveries in magic and science were accidental. Now, let's show Katrina what happens when she threatens our daughter's kingdom!" With that he pulled out a flare gun and fired it into the air, sending up a bright blue spark into the sky.

* * *

 **…The Baily…**

"That's _onisan's_ signal!" shouted Kiriyaga Suguha as she, Tsuboi Ryotaro, Ayano Keiko, Shinozaki Rika and Andrew Gilbert Mills, otherwise known respectively online as Leafa, Klein, Silica, Lisbeth and Agil, waited for the right moment, all of them wearing their own harnesses.

"This is definitely not what I signed up for," said Asada Shino, AKA Sinon, "I only joined up with you guys to cure my gun phobia."

"Which you did," said Suguha, "thanks to _onisan_ , and are we going to do this or now?" With that she activated her harness. In a flash of rainbow-colored light, she assumed her online avatar of the Sylph Leafa.

Taking flight and drawing her sword, Leafa looked back and saw Klien the Salamander, Silica the Cait Sith, Lisbeth the Leprechaun, Agil the Gnome and Sinon the Cait Sith.

Before too long they saw Kirito the Spriggon and Asuna the Undine, as well as dozens of other transformed gamers from their world, flying towards the enemy.

"Let's Go!" shouted Kirito as he and his fellow faeries dove towards the hordes of Demons and Heartless.

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"Whoa! Wait a second!" said Aiden as he and the others watched the faeries tear into the enemy creatures with sword and sorcery, "rewind a bit! How do I rewind this thing?"

"Here, use this," said The Cosmic Owl as he handed a remote control to Aiden. Aiden rewound the footage to Kazuto and Asuna talking to Kairi.

 _"'Now, let's show Katrina what happens when she threatens our daughter's kingdom!"'_

"Okay, this is kind of a stupid question," said Aiden as he paused the video, "but…are they Kairi's parents?"

"If they are they must have gone through a serious time warp to get there," said Marceline.

"They're not Kairi's parents," said Riku, "they don't even look like here, and don't start with me on how genetics are never certain."

"They could be her mom and dad," said Finn, "I'm nothing like my dad and I don't even know what my mom looks like, so maybe they are Kairi's folks."

"Are you kidding?" asked Jake, "you're like a mini version of Martin. I'm just glad you two are completely different people."

"Yeah, my dad's kinda a jerk," said Finn.

"Could we put the subject of parents and genetics aside?" asked a worried Malcolm as he unpaused the video and watched the battle unfold, "something's going to happen, I just know it."

"It does look suspicious," said Riku, "the enemy's just been throwing demons and Heartless at Radiant Garden, why haven't they sent any of their heavy hitters or something?"

"Don't say that!" shouted Tess, "you'll jinx it!"

"I think he just did," said Aiden as one of the smaller screens keeping an eye on Castle Oblivion expanded, showing Insano giddily opening the vats containing the Titan Heartless hybrids. The new creatures were all roughly 10 meters tall with exaggerated human features, except for pitch-black skin and the Heartless emblem on their torsos.

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"Yes! Yes! This is splendid!" exclaimed Insano as the Titan Heartless emerged from their growing vats, "The perfect killing machines! Titan Heartless! They eat humans and spit out lesser Heartless as their doomed victims give in to helpless despair! And all obedient to me!" He then giggled like the mad genius he was.

"Just don't forget," said Katrina as she zapped herself into the room, "they're ready because of me!"

"Yes, I know, I know," said Insano, "you wiggled your finger and accelerated the maturation process. So I owe you, big deal! Just go back and watch Radiant Garden crash and burn."

"We'll see if your psychotic efforts are worth it," said Katrina as she zapped herself out of the room.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"Something's wrong," said Kairi as she, The King and her bodyguards watched the battle, surprised and worried as the enemy creatures stopped coming. A great cheer rose up from the defending heroes as they believed the battle won.

"I can feel it," said Kairi, "something's very wrong. Something's coming, I know it!"

Just then several large Dark Corridors opened on the battlefield, from which strode the Titan Heartless.

"OH CRAP!" exclaimed Jean as he and the other Survey Corps members watched from higher up on the castle.

"They did it, they made Titan Heartless hybrids," said a distraught Mikasa as she and the others watched the gargantuan abominations walk into the ranks of defending heroes. The many Meta Humans fought valiantly against the creatures, shooting with various conventional and energy firearms, telekinesis and other super powers. The AT units fired their weapons at the creatures, all of whom scored many hits.

Yet the skin of the creatures were barely scratched from the many projectiles and attacks. Some of the creatures were knocked down yet got back up before any effort to cut open the back of the neck could be made. It wasn't long before the first screams of horror and death rose from the battlefield as the Titan Heartless began devouring the defenders.

"Time to go!" shouted Eren as he, Mikasa and the other Survey Corps members jumped off the towers, using modified 3DMG to propel, then glide towards the battlefield.

"It took a while but we figured out new and better means of outmaneuvering Titans," said Armin as Kairi watched Eren and the others glide up to and began fighting the enemy Titans, using new weapons such as flame and chemical throwers that shot pressurized herbicides, as well as a substance similar to liquid nitrogen.

"Titans are very much like plants," said Armin as Kairi saw the Survey Corps members burn, freeze and poison the enemy Titans, delivering massive amounts of damage that taxed the creature's regenerative power, "they get their energy from sunlight, but are just as weak against heat, cold and poisons as real plants.

"And of course, there's their true weakness," said Armin as he and Kairi saw Mikasa, armed with the traditional bamboo steel sword of the Survey Corps, maneuver behind and slash at the back of the neck of a Titan.

But the creature didn't fall dead. Instead it swatted at Mikasa, whom quickly got over her shock and horror and got out of the way.

"Uh…that's not supposed to happen," said a mortified Armin.

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"That's not supposed to happen!" exclaimed Tess, "Titan's die when you cut open the back of the neck!"

"That goggled freak!" said Aiden as he saw on another screen Insano's triumphant dance of psychotic glee, "he figured out how to overcome The Titan's one weakness!"

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"You figured out how to overcome The Titan's one weakness," said Annie as she, Bertold and Reiner joined the other villains in the room, "impressive."

"Can you do that for us?" asked Reiner, "we're still bound by that weakness when we're in Titan form."

"Yes, yes, all in good time," said Insano, "just as soon as the carnage on Radiant Garden is complete!"

"Why wait?" asked Katrina.

"'Why wait?'" asked Insano, "because I want to watch the carnage, duh!"

"Not that, Poindexter!" said Katrina, "I mean we shall go to Radiant Garden and crack open The Keyhole while everyone's distracted," she looked at Darklight, "assuming you're up for it."

"Whatever," said Darklight as she stood up and stretched.

"Then let us depart for Radiant Garden!" said Katrina, "and once we've cracked open The Keyhole, we'll proceed to two more worlds to crack open their Keyholes. Once Kairi and her band of rabble rousers are out of the way, the last two Keyholes should be a cakewalk!"

Katrina then opened a small portal to the workshop where Cid labored, "and you, old man!" shouted Katrina into the portal, "you had better be finished with that Sampo by the time I get back!" She then closed the portal.

"Well, might as well see this through," said Regina.

"Indeed, it's time we finished this," said Young Xehanort, "but not all of us. Someone should stay and keep watch on the castle. No doubt the enemy has employed some sort of subterfuge, a plan to infiltrate Castle Oblivion when it is most venerable."

"Yes, that's a good idea," said Regina eagerly, seeing her chance to make her escape.

"I'll stay," said Sephiroth, "we already agreed I'd stay."

"No, I'll stay," said Regina, "I…"

"Sephiroth will stay," said Young Xehnaort, "he's right, we'd already agreed. And as for our necromantic friend…"

"I shall go," said The Lich as he appeared behind Young Xehanort, startling the dark master.

"Well…alright then," said Young Xehanort, "We're all here, then let's go."

"About time!" said Katrina as she zapped herself, Young Xehanort, Regina and The Lich out of the room, with Regina glaring at Sehpiroth.

Said one-winged angel then went to the workshop, opening a spy hole to observe Cid, Aerith, Yuffie and Selphie.

"I'm so sorry, Cid," said Aerith, "but as long as that horrible woman has our hearts…"

"I gotta do what that other horrible dame wants," said Cid as he continued to forge The Sampo, "but I ain't gotta like it."

"None of us like it!" said Yuffie, "you think you're suffering? I had my freaking heart ripped out!"

"And we're never going to get them back," said a depressed Selphie, "as soon as Katrina has The Sampo, we're all going to die."

"Maybe," said Cid, "But not without a fight."

"They'll kill us anyway no matter what we do," said Yuffie.

"Exactly," said Cid, "which is why I'm sabotaging Katrina's precious Sampo," he then held up a small box full of a near-transparent substance, "I'm mixing this with that shining sand stuff. It'll contaminate whatever evil thing Katrina wants to make with The Sampo; I hope it'll blow up in her face."

"Which will give us the chance to take out some of the baddies," said Yuffie as she pulled out a small knife, "they took our weapons, but missed this one. First chance I get, I'm gonna slice open Regina's neck, hopefully before she tries anything with our hearts."

Sephiroth had seen enough. Walking away from the workship, he returned to the Interocitor room where, forgotten by Katrina and the others, Zotarius sat in his magic circle, summoning more demons to attack Radiant Garden.

Indifferent to the warlock, Sephiroth climbed to the roof of the castle and began polishing Masamune. _'Let Cid and the girls plot their plots'_ mused the one-winged angel, _'let Katrina and the others have their fun,'_ for he had a bigger fish to fry.

"Soon, Cloud Strife, soon."

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"Leon and the others are heading for a trap!" said Riku as he watched on another screen Rinoa's Gummy Ship cruise through hyperspace towards Castle Oblivion.

"And the others are pretty much fraked," said Malcolm as he watched the chaos on the main screen. The defenders of Radiant Garden; Meta-Humans, AT pilots, Faeries, Survey Corps, were forced to fall back against the seemingly unstoppable drive of the Titan Heartless. As if to make matters worse, fresh waves of demons and Heartless arrived. It seemed a rout of the forces of light was imminent.

"I can't stand it anymore!" shouted Tess, "I can't watch! I…I…I wish I knew how to destroy those horrible Titan Heartless!"

"That I can do," said Prismo.

"SAY WHAT?!" exclaimed Finn, Jake, Marceline, Riku, Aiden, Tess and Malcolm.

"That's one wish I can grant," said Prismo.

With that, a sealed scroll of parchment materialized in Tess's hand. She broke the seal and read the scroll, a look of dumbfounded joy dawned on her face.

"What is it?" asked Riku as he took and read the scroll, leading him to laugh uncontrollably.

"It's so simple and stupid it's positively brilliant!" said Malcolm as he and Aiden read the scroll.

"Yeah, but how do we get this to everyone on Radiant Garden?" asked Aiden. He then glared at Prismo, "this is the ironic twist to the wish, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately," said Prismo.

"Well then," said Malcolm, "I wish for a way to get the info to everyone on Radiant Garden," said Malcolm, "I'll deal with the ironic twist when it comes."

"Fair enough," said Prismo, he then cupped his two-dimensional chin in thought, "now, how to do it without violating the other wish?"

"I've got an idea," said The Cosmic Owl. He took the remote and zoomed in on the battlefield, focusing on one of the Max Kildare alternates, whom had taken a nasty blow to the head and was unconscious, "he'll do."

The Cosmic Owl pulled out a Dream Token from a subspace pocket and used the token to open a portal, which he flew through. He was back a few seconds later.

"What did you do?" asked Malcolm.

"I entered that one's dreams and implanted the information," said The Cosmic Owl, "he should wake up any second now."

* * *

 **...Radiant Garden...**

The unconscious Max Kildare awoke with a start, "That's it!" he shouted. He ran to Eren, whom was about to bite his hand and transform into The Rogue Titan. Max spoke with Eren, whom nodded in agreement.

Both ran towards the nearest Titan Heartless. Eren maneuvered up to the back of the creature's neck and sliced it open. The gargantuan abomination ignored the wound as it and its fellows plodded up to the edge of the town, just as Max leaped onto its shoulders and, using the sliced neck as a start, ripped the creatures' head off. The Titan Heartless collapsed to the ground and began evaporating.

"That's it!" shouted Kairi as she watched from the castle, "that's how you kill those things! Armin! Tell the others!"

"Got it!" said Armin as he jumped off and glided towards the battlefield.

Kairi resumed watching, focusing on Eren as he ran off to tell the others, while Max looked for another Titan Heartless to attack, just as Darklight appeared. Before Max could react, Darklight cut him in half from the bottom up,killing him.

"Oh no," said King Mickey as he too saw Darklight as the corrupted Keyblade Wielder began slaughtering any and all nearby heroes.

"Let's go, Aqua!" said King Mickey as he summoned his golden Keyblade.

"I'm right with you," said Aqua as she too summoned her Keyblade.

"Let's get her!" said Kairi as she summoned her Keyblade.

"No, you stay, Kairi!" said The King, "stay and protect the Keyhole of your world!"

"We'll stop the fallen one," said Aqua, "but if we fail, it'll be up to you."

Kairi didn't argue, merely nodded, "just don't die," she said as she ran inside to the room of Radiant Garden's Keyhole.

Aqua then tossed her Keyblade into the air, transforming it into her hover scooter. She and The King got on and they flew out onto the battlefield.

They passed over Darklight, just as she was about to impale her second Jill Sparrow alternate of the day. Distracted, Darlkight let the near dead Meta Human fall to the ground as she looked up. The King and Aqua jumped to the ground, the hover scooter transforming back to its Keyblade form and returning to Aqua's hand.

"I'd say I was happy to see you, mouse," said Darklight to The King, "but then I'd be lying. Where's Kairi?"

"Fulfilling her duty as ruler of this world," said The King.

"Cowering behind others, you mean," said Darklight, "not surprising. You've got to know by now that you can't be me."

"We can still try," said Aqua defiantly

At that Darklight glared at Aqua, "you I don't know."

"I've been training for what is to come," said Aqua, "I apologize for not fighting you sooner."

"No need," said Darklight as she smiled, "I'm in the mood for something new!" with that she rushed at Aqua and King Mickey, whom met her dark Keyblade with their own.

"I'm going in," said Young Xehanort as he, Regina, The Lich and Katrina watched the clash of Keyblades nearby, "I have unfinished business with Aqua."

"No, I want to watch," said Regina, "this is interesting."

"Indeed," said The Lich.

"Do what you want," said Katrina, "I'm going for The Keyhole! Leslie!"

"I'm here, oh supreme vicious one!" said The Lord of Illusions as he appeared beside Katrina. With that the two of them zapped themselves out.

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"You two-dimensional bastard!" snapped Malcolm at Prismo, "you knew! You knew my wish would get that Max and so many others killed!"

"No I didn't," said Prismo, "I just knew that your wish would have an ironic twist."

"Well maybe you shouldn't be in the wish-granting business," said Tess irately, "there's got to be a way out of here! Or some way we can help our friends, anything!"

"I'm trying to think of a wish that can help," said Riku, "but I keep thinking of how they could go wrong!"

"I just want to know who's keeping us here," said Aiden.

"Yeah, who is keeping us here?" asked Marceline, "I'd like to pop her till she bleats!"

"Get in line!" said Tess, "I swear, the next time I see Alegra Wells, I'll…"

"You'll do what?" asked Alegra as she, Sabrina and Salem walked into the room, "there's nothing you can do to me that I haven't already experienced. Believe me, Tess Thatcher, I know pain."

"So it is you," said Tess, "you just can't leave us alone, can you? Oh, before I forget, Finn? Jake, Marceline, this is Alegra Wells, Sabrina Spellman and Salem Saberhagen."

"Nice to meetcha," said Salem, "where's the tuna? I'm starving!"

"We have been on a long, long journey," said Sabrina, "like the biggest, longest road trip you can imagine."

"You have been busy," said Malcolm as he, Aiden, Tess realized that Sabrina had aged several years since they last saw her. Whereas Sabrina had been on the edge of eighteen, she now looked almost thirty, while Salem had more than a few gray hairs in his black fur.

"Doing what?" asked Riku, "besides forcing us to watch an unmitigated slaughter!" he pointed at the screen where, despite the renewed efforts of the defending heroes, the Titan heartless continued their approach towards the castle.

"Passing my mantle," said Alegra, "that and assembling an army of heroes. Trust me, more help is coming. But as for me," she sighed with exasperation, but then looked around in confusion, "The Time Room? How'd we get here?"

"Her Alzheimer's," said a shocked Tess.

"It's gotten worse, much worse," said Sabrina. "She can no longer safely navigate the time vortex." Sabrina rolled up her sleeves, revealing a tattoo of a compass on her right wrist and one of a stopwatch on her left, "but I can."

"And I got some of my magic back," said Salem. With a flick of his tail, he zapped in a plate full of fish, "not as great as when I was a man, but it works."

"So, you're the new meddler," said Tess, "then why can't we go help our friends? Yes, I know that you or Alegra or whoever saw that we die in a lot of potential futures, but…"

"BUT NOTHING!" shouted Alegra furiously as she regained her senses and stood in front of Tess, forcing a visibly shaken Tess back a few paces, "I didn't go through countless deaths and agonies just to allow you to needlessly throw away your life Tess Thatcher! Same goes for you and the others! You'll go to Radiant Gaarden when the time is right, no sooner! Or so help me…!" she raised her fist to strike Tess, "so help me, I'll…"

"No! Don't!" said Sabrina, "you can't! Remember the new rule!"

"Oh, right, I do remember the new rule," said Alegra as she lowered her hand, "'No Violence In The Time Room.' It doesn't matter. You Keyblade Wielders are staying and that's final."

"Even if that ends up sacrificing gods knows how many lives?" accused Aiden.

"We took into account every possible outcome," said Alegra.

"I know it sucks, guys," said Sabrina, "but this is the best way."

Just then the screen focusing on the clash of Keyblades showed something horrifying as Darklight struck King Mickey a mortal blow, while on the main screen, the Titan Heartless reached the castle.

Tess picked up the remote, paused the screens and glared at Sabrina, "Did you take this into account?!" she said in an accusing tone.

"Uh…" said a mortified Sabrina, struggling to come up with an excuse, "technically it's still my first day?" thus earning groans of annoyance from everyone.

 **The End of Chapter 7.**

 _Next chapter brings the next phase of the cataclysmic battle into focus. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	9. Chapter 8: Clash for the Keyhole

_Last time found Riku and the others stuck in The Time Room, helplessly watching Katrina's assault on Radiant Garden begin. Our heroes despair came to a head as Tess's wish to help the forces of good take an ironic twist for the worse. Alegra, Sabrina and Salem showed up in The Time Room, admitting that Alegra's illness had reached a critical stage. Sabrina had fully stepped into Alegra's shoes as a meddling time-traveler, though Alegra wasn't completely out of the fight just yet. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 8: Clash for the Keyhole**

 **...The Time Room...**

"You Keyblade Wielders are staying and that's final."

"Even if that ends up sacrificing gods knows how many lives?" accused Aiden.

"We took into account every possible outcome," said Alegra.

"I know it sucks, guys," said Sabrina, "but this is the best way."

Just then the screen focusing on the clash of Keyblades showed something horrifying as Darklight struck King Mickey a mortal blow, while on the main screen, the Titan Heartless reached the castle.

Tess picked up the remote, paused the screens and glared at Sabrina, "Did you take this into account?!" she said in an accusing tone.

"Uh…" said a mortified Sabrina, struggling to come up with an excuse, "technically it's still my first day?" thus earning groans of annoyance from everyone.

"Enough of this bullshit!" said Aiden, "we're going to Radiant Garden right now!"

"You can't go yet," said Alegra.

"Are you blind as well as senile?!" exclaimed Malcolm, "they just killed The King, the bastards!"

"Ehh…the mouse ain't dead yet," said Salem as he summoned another fish on a plate, while using his magic to resume the video, "just keep watching, trust me."

"You're right, he's not dead!" said Riku as he saw King Mickey struggle to a leaning position while Aqua stood between him and Darklight.

"Yeah, but that girl's facing Darklight all alone!" said Malcolm.

"That's not just any girl," said Aiden, "That's Aqua, a Keyblade Master from the past, sort of, long story."

"If she can't beat Darklight, no one can," said Riku.

The screen showed Aqua casting a spell, then vanishing. Darklight was struck several time by something so fast she could barely see it, nearly knocking her down.

"Hold on, slow motion replay," said The Cosmic Owl as he picked up the remote and pressed the desired buttons. A smaller screen showed Aqua running at and attacking Darklight, with the corrupted Keyblade Wielder moving too slow to react.

"Ah, the old 'bullet time' move," said Marceline, "nice."

In normal time, Darklight recovered and accelerated to keep up with Aqua.

"Oh great, now they're both in bullet time," said Malcolm.

"Don't be so negative, kido," said Salem, "that water girl, she's got this."

"Yeah, we've got other things to worry about," said Tess as she took the remote and focused on another screen, pulling it up on the main screen. Several Titan Heartless had trod their way through the town and were nearly at the castle. The defending Meta Humans, AT units, faeries and Survey Corps were so preoccupied by the seemingly endless hordes of heartless and demons, they could barely slow the hulking abominations down.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

But then Eren bit his hand. With a flash of lightning and a blast of steam, The Rogue Titan let lose a defiant roar and charged at the unholy hybrids. It socked one of the creatures in the jaw, knocking the creature down. The Rogue Titan then began stomping on the creature's head and tearing it away at the neck, then grabbed one of the dissolving pieces of the destroyed Titan Heartless, throwing it at another creature.

"Get 'em, Eren!" shouted Armin from the castle tower, leaning over the railing as he and Kairi watched The Rogue Titan attack another Titan Heartless, while the other defenders rallied against the other hulking abominations. So excited by the turn of events that he leaned too far over the railing and fell over.

Fortunately for Armin, Kairi was there to catch and pull him back over.

"I don't think your friends would appreciate it if you did that," said Kairi.

"You…you're right," said a panting Armin, "thanks."

Just then Leafa landed next to Kairi, "I think we've got this won, Kairi," said the blonde Sylph.

"Don't bet it on it," said Kairi grimly, "this isn't the best the enemy can come up with."

"Why are you jinxing it?" asked Leafa, "we're turning this around! Besides, _oniisan_ has a secret weapon just in case. But I don't think we'll need it," she pointed at The Rogue Titan, "not with that guy ripping into those Titan things. You wouldn't happen to know if he's single?"

"Eren? Single?" asked Armin, "well…he's not dating anyone, but…"

Just then they heard another Titan roar, but not from The Rogue Titan. Charging like a freight train, The Female Titan ran up to and delivered a crystalized punch to The Rogue Titan's face, knocking it down.

"Oh shit!" exclaimed a horrified Armin.

"The Female Titan," said a terrified Leafa, "she's here."

"How do you know about Annie?" asked Armin.

"Never mind that!" said Kairi as The Rogue Titan tried to get up, only to have The Female Titan tackle him back to the ground. The two began a furious grapple, all the while another group of Titan Heartless arrived, "where'd she come from?!"

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"Where did she come from?!" asked Tess, "where'd that traitorous bitch come from?!"

"Hang on, I'll rewind," said The Cosmic Owl as he took the remote back and pulled up a scene a few minutes ago.

Perched on a building on the edge of the town were Annie, Bertold and Reiner, watching the battle and well out of the path of the Titan Heartless.

"Gotta admit, that psycho scientist knew what he's doing," said Bertold.

"And unlike what those Raztonian and Parzon bastards did, this time it barely hurt," said Annie as she felt where Insano drew her blood. "We may not even be needed."

"Guess again," said Reiner as lightning struck and The Rogue Titan went forth into battle.

"Damn you, Eren Yeager," said Bertold, "you're always getting in the way!"

"Then let's finish it," said Annie, "now, before he causes us any more trouble." With that Annie and Reiner used their own 3DMG to get close to the castle. They both bit their hands and transformed into The Female Titan and Armored Titan.

"Oh, that's where she came from," said Tess as the screen went back to real time and saw The Female and Rogue Titan grappling.

"But where's Reiner?" asked Aiden, "and Bertold for that matter."

"There's The Armored Titan!" said Malcolm as the screen showed said creature fighting the Meta Humans, AT units, faeries and Survey Corps, whom were all still fighting against the seemingly endless throngs of demons and Heartless. What defenders that could face The Armored Titan couldn't seriously harm it; their weapons barely scratching its plate-like skin, nor could they keep up with its speed once it started running.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"Reiner, you jerk!" shouted Armin as he climbed onto the railing, "and you Annie! I wish we were never friends!" he then lost balance and nearly fell over, only for Kairi and Leafa to catch him.

"Stop doing that!" shouted Kairi, "your friends are really gonna hate me if I let you die stupidly like that!"

"Sorry," said Armin, "I kinda lost my head."

"The only thing that's gonna lose its head is that big jerk!" shouted Leafa as she drew her sword.

"I don't think your sword will work against that thing," said Kairi, "and magic isn't working either!"

True enough, the spells cast by the faeries just bounced off the plate-like hide of The Armored Titan.

"Then it's time for _oniisan's_ secret weapon," said Leafa as she took flight and zoomed towards the battlefield.

"Our secret weapon too," said Armin as he pulled out a flare gun and fired off three blue flares.

"Now!" shouted Mikasa as she and several rallied Survey Corps members attacked devices to their wrists that resembled spear guns.

"Thunder Spears," said Armin, "we knew we'd end up facing The Armored Titan again. Our Bamboo Steel blades can't pierce it, but these can!"

Mikasa and the others maneuvered up to The Armored Titan. Getting as close as possible, Mikasa took aim and fired a spear into The Armored Titan's left leg, penetrating its plate-like skin.

The Armored Titan let out a pained bellow, just as two more spears pierced its hide, one in the other leg, the other in the midsection.

"For Wall Maria, you bastard!" shouted Jean as he got behind and fired both spears at The Armored Titan's neck. The creature ducked just enough to miss the vital spot, but the spears pierced its skull and went out through its face. It let out an even louder roar of agony.

This got the attention of The Female Titan, whom had the upper hand over The Rogue Titan and had dealt several serious wounds across its body. Reacting to her comrade's bellow of pain, The Female Titan got up, only to be kicked in the solar plexus by The Rogue Titan and knocked down.

Its wounds regenerating, The Rogue Titan got back up, just as The Female Titan got back up. She charged at The Rogue Titan again, her fists crystalized to deliver more damage. But The Rogue Titan caught her fists in his own fists, hardened like stone. The Rogue Titan then crushed one of The Female Titan's fists, then let go of the other to deliver a devastating punch to the face that nearly crushed The Female Titan's head and knocked her down.

"DO IT, EREN!" shouted Armin as The Rogue Titan began pummeling The Female Titan, "DO IT! KILL HER!"

"At this rate he'll crush her head!" said Kairi.

"DO IT! KILL HER!" Armin shouted again.

But then came another lightning strike, followed by a massive blast of steam in the middle of the defender's line. The air was filled by the screams of those burned by the boiling-hot vapor, followed by cries of horror as the steam cleared, revealing the 60-meter goliath of The Colossal Titan.

"Oh, it's Bertold," said a heavily subdued Armin as The Colossal Titan swatted away those attacking The Armored Titan, then grabbed The Rogue Titan and tossed him away like throwing a toy doll.

"Uh…he's coming this way," said Kairi as The Colossal Titan strode towards the castle, stopping just outside the castle walls and raising one foot.

"RUN!" shouted Armin as The Colossal Titan brought its foot down.

"NO! JUMP!" shouted Kairi as she grabbed Armin and leapt over the railing, barely avoiding the crushing stomp, yet the air displacement of the blow blasted her and Armin out of control into the air.

But then Kairi was momentarily blinded by an intense flash of light. After a few seconds, as Kairi's vision returned, she realized she was on the ground several hundred yards from the castle, one side of which had completely collapsed, revealing the room with The Keyhole.

"Kairi!" shouted Asuna as she and Kirito landed next to and helped her up, an elaborately crafted golden sword in one hand and his Elucidor sword on the other, "are you…"

"I'm fine," said Kairi as she stood up, despite the numerous minor cuts, scrapes, bruises and steam burns covering her body, "I gotta go!" she then ran back to the castle.

"Where are you going?" asked Kirito.

"The Keyhole!" shouted Kairi.

"I'm fine, too," said a dazed Armin.

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"How'd she survive that fall?" asked Riku as he and the others watched Kairi navigate the wreckage of the castle.

"Her crown, it glowed and she teleported," said Malcolm, "it has magical properties."

"As long as it doesn't drive her bananas, I'm cool with it," said Marceline.

"Who cares about some stupid crown?!" snapped Tess. She glared at Sabrina and Alegra, "now can we go help?!"

"Not yet," said Sabrina, "one of my aces is about to be played."

"You and your aces," said Tess coldly, "Alegra's had too much an influence on you."

"She's right," said Alegra, "you really should be doing your own thing."

'Well, I'll call them aces for now," said Sabrina, "until I figure out which game references to use."

"Oh gods!" exclaimed Aiden as he pointed at the screen, which showed Darklight breaking off her fight with Aqua and dashing towards the castle. Aqua tried to follow, only to find herself facing Young Xehanort, wielding a corrupted Keyblade of his own. Aqua had no choice but to fight her possessed former friend.

"Now?!" demanded Tess as one of the screens tracked Darklight's rapid progress to the castle.

"Not yet," said Sabrina, "it's alright, Kairi will be alright."

"She'd better," said Tess, "or the first chance I get, I'll take the top of your skull and make a breakfast bowl out of it!"

"Believe me, you don't want to be alive while they're ripping out your bones," said Alegra.

"I'll try to be dead when that happens," said a disturbed Sabrina.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

Kairi climbed the rubble to the Keyhole room, drawing on reserves of strength she never knew she had and was barely winded when she reached the room. Yet the exhaustion of everything that happened before slammed into her as she saw Darklight standing before The Keyhole.

"Now that's a big Keyhole," said an impressed Darklight, "It'll take me a while to crack it open."

Drawing on her reserves again, Kairi summoned her Keyblade, "not if I stop you first!"

"Oh, it's you," said Darklight as she turned around and summoned her black Keyblade, "I figured I'd have to fight you before finishing off this world."

"Bethany, please!" said Kairi, "stop this! You don't have to be evil! You don't have to…"

"Oh please!" snapped Darklight, "don't appeal to my better nature, I don't have any! I'm dark through and through! Now, are we gonna do this or not?"

"Yes," said Kairi as she held her Keyblade in one hand as she pressed her wrist, then did the same with the other wrist, "let's do this!"

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"You go, Kairi!" shouted Aiden as he and the others watched Kairi and Darklight duel in front of The Keyhole, "kill her! Wipe the floor with that floozy!"

"Uh…I hate to spoil the mood," said Marceline as she saw Darklight holding the advantage over Kairi, "but your friend isn't doing so well."

"Kairi's fine!" insisted Malcolm, "her crown obviously has powers she can use, so it's only a matter of time before she uses it!"

"There she goes!" said Riku as he and the others saw the diadem glow brightly, restoring Kairi's strength and weakening Darklight's resolve, forcing the corrupted Princess of Heart away from The Keyhole.

"She's doing it!" said Riku, "She's gonna beat Darklight!"

"Oh, you just had to jinx it, kido," said Salem.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

Just as Kairi was about to force Darklight over the edge of the ruined room, Katrina zapped in, an irate look on the dark witch's face. "Do I have to do everything myself!?" she shouted as she aimed her finger and shot a spell at Kairi. The spell connected, causing Kairi to cry out in agony as dark magic racked across her body.

"I was doing fine without you, damn it!" snapped Darklight as she rushed at and delivered several damaging attacks on Kairi, knocking her down and her Keyblade out of her hands. Kairi tried to get back up only for Darklight to back hand her across the room. Kairi landed hard in front of The Keyhole, barely conscious. She struggled to pull herself together, only for her eyes to widen in shock and anger as Darklight picked her Keyblade up. Kairi tried to summon her Keyblade back to her hand, only for Darklight to maintain her grip on it.

"You…you're not supposed to do that," said Kairi as she struggled to her feet yet could barely sit up.

"I can do a lot of impossible things," said Darklight coldly, "now, let's finish this."

"Yes, let's finish it," said Katrina. She then zapped Kairi with an immobilizing spell. Kairi found herself utterly helpless as Katrina levitated her upright and turned her to face the Keyhole.

"Congratulations, Kairi," said Katrina with a wicked smile, "you get a front row seat to the destruction of your world. Don't bother shouting for help, nobody's coming!"

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"We're coming, you evil sack of pig vomit!" shouted Riku. He glared at Sabrina and Alegra, "let us go! NOW!"

"Not yet," said Sabrina, "just wait, everything's going to be alright."

"Does that look alright, you idiot?!" snapped Tess as she pointed at the screen as Darklight approached Kairi.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"Do it, Lady Darklight!" said Katrina, "Smash The Keyhole!"

"No, not yet," said Darklight, "I have one thing to do first." She readied both her Keyblade and Kairi's, "she's been a thorn in my side long enough."

"What? No, no!" said an outraged Katrina, "don't kill her just like that! I want Kairi to watch you smash open The Keyhole!"

"And have some crazy miracle appear at the last second? I don't think so!" said Darklight, "yell at me all you want, there's nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me!" she raised up both Keyblades to strike Kairi.

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"NOOOOOOO!" shouted Riku, Aiden, Tess, Malcolm, Finn, Jake and Marceline.

"Now," said Sabrina with a confident smile.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"Get away from my friend, you bitch!" shouted Elyon as she appeared and blasted Darklight with a double attack spell from both hands, launching the corrupted Princess of Heart out of the ruined room.

"What…what the hell!?" demanded Katrina as she recognized Elyon, "YOU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"The same thing I'm doing," said Elsa as she appeared behind Katrina, "stopping you!" she then grabbed Katrina by the wrist and began freezing it. Letting out a pained screech of fury, Katrina blasted Elsa with her free hand. Elsa blocked the spell with a summoned shield of ice but had to release Katrina.

"So, two magical queens are here to help a third?" asked Katrina as she healed her frozen hand.

"That's right," said Elyon as she helped Kairi up, "we're here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I forgot the bubblegum," she smiled at Kairi, "congrats on your coronation by the way, remind me and we'll have a party later."

"Only if I pick the music list," said Kairi.

"We'll compare iPods and figure it out," said Elyon.

"What's an iPod?" asked Elsa.

"I'll tell you later," said Kairi, "right now we've one very evil witch to deal with."

"Oh please!" snapped Katrina, "do you honestly think you've a chance against me? I've centuries of dark magic experience to call on, whereas you three are barely into your first lifetime! You don't stand a ghost of a chance! And your friends won't last much longer either! NECROMANCER!"

Just then The Lich teleported into the room, "yes?" asked the vile spirit possessing Sora.

"Oh, jeez, Sora," said a shocked and disgusted Elyon, "you look terrible."

"That's not Sora!" said Kairi, "it's…"

"We know, he's possessed," said Elsa, "and we can't stop him," she then smiled eagerly, "but there's someone who can!"

It was then that a girl in her late teens with long blond hair and blue eyes teleported into the area and blasted The Lich with pure white-blue magic. The vile necromancer summoned a shield of dark magic that blocked the blast but was forced back, "what…what is this sorcery!?" exclaimed the creature possessing Sora.

"The revived magic of a world, you meanie!" shouted the girl as she fired another beam of white-blue magic, "get out of Sora now!"

"Never!" shouted The Lich as it summoned its corrupted Keyblade to block the white-blue beams but was forced back to the edge of the ruined room and fell over, teleporting away before it hit the ground.

"I'm going after that thing," said the girl, "wish me luck."

"Good luck, Lillian," said Elyon as the girl teleported out.

"Lillian?" asked Kairi, "wait…is that…no, it can't be, can it?"

"Yep, that was Lillian Hale, Cornelia's little sister," said Elyon, "long story."

"And we'll tell it in full," said Elsa, "but first we've got to beat Columbina, or should I say Katrina?"

"Doesn't matter what you call me," said Katrina, "I'll still win! Darklight will be back here any second," she glanced out onto the battlefield, "while the rest of your defenders are on the verge of defeat! ZOTARIUS! Summon your strongest demons! INSANO! More Titan Heartless!"

But then Katrina's cell phone rang, "What is it?!" she shouted after answering the call.

"Uh…I really don't want to say this," said Insano reluctantly on the other end of the call, "but…I'm kinda out of Titan Heartless."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE OUT OF TITAN HEARTLESS!?" shouted Katrina.

"That's it, I'm out," Insano responded, "they're all used up until I can make more!"

"YOU'RE USELESS!" snapped Katrina as she threw away her phone, "it doesn't matter, I still have three Titan's at my command and plenty of demons!"

"Think again, bitch," said Elyon, "my friends are doing what they do best; kicking evil ass!"

Katrina looked out onto the battlefield and saw, to her shock and disgust, The Guardians flying around and attacking The Female and Armored Titan, distracting them enough to allow The Rogue Titan to attack and deliver more damage to both. At the same time, Mikasa and the remaining Survey Corps members shot both enemy Titans with more Thunder Spears. Up in the air, Asuna, Kirito and the other faeries fought with blade, arrow and magic, with Kirito using his golden sword, the strongest sword in ALO, Excalibur, destroying twice as many Titan Heartless as anyone else.

On the ground, the defending Meta Humans, AT units and faeries had rallied with the arrival of Matt, Eric, Nigel and Caleb, the later three wearing their Shardplate and the former in his winged form. The onslaught of demons and regular Heartless had been turned against the fell creatures.

"Annie, fall," said Mikasa as she swooped behind and sliced the tendons of The Female Titan's legs, dropping the creature forward to the ground with a tremendous crash, just as the other Survey Corps members disabled The Armored Titan's legs, sending him down with a louder crash.

"Doesn't look so good for you, Katrina," said Kairi as she watched the Survey Corps members use reinforced ropes and wires to restrain the fallen Titans.

"Right back atcha!" said Katrina as The Colossal Titan stomped towards his fallen comrades, forcing the human fighters to scatter. The Rigue Titan tried to charge at The Colossal Titan, but the skinless gargantuan backhanded The Rogue Titan hard enough to send him flying.

"EREN!" shouted Mikasa as she tried to run to her friend, only to trip and fall on the ground. She tried to get up, only to freeze in horror as The Colossal Titan raised his foot to crush her.

But then the bald man, now wearing a yellow spandex suit with a belt, red boots and gloves and a white cape, appeared in front Mikasa. He raised one gloved hand and shoved at The Colossal Titan's foot, forcing the creature off balance and knocking it down with a near earsplitting crash.

"You okay?" asked the bald man as he helped Mikasa up.

"Yes…I'm…fine," said a dumbfounded Mikasa, "how…how'd you do that?"

"Do what?" asked the bald man, "oh, you mean push that big guy back like that? I'm just strong, really, really strong." As if sensing something, the bald man looked towards the castle, "'scuse me for a second," with that he dashed towards the castle and ran up to the ruined Keyhole room in the blink of an eye.

"Sorry it took me so long to actually help, your majesty," said the bald man to Kairi, "I was kinda busy."

"I think I saw you on the battlefield," said Kairi, "you kept dashing in and out, carrying the wounded to safety. You're so fast, and you're strong enough to push over a 60-meter abomination. How? And who are you?"

"I told you, I'm a hero for fun," said the bald man, "But you can call me Saitama."

At that the Lord of Illusions, whom was standing next to The Keyhole in order to enact something foul, screamed in utter terror.

"How long was he there?" asked Kairi.

"Long enough to try something bad," said Elyon, "but not on my watch!" with that she ran over to The Keyhole, shoving The Lord of Illusions aside and cast her magic to undo whatever evil the vile trickster was trying.

"What the hell, Leslie?!" demanded Katrina.

"We…we're all going to die," said the horrified Lord of Illusions.

"Get a hold of yourself!" snapped Katrina, "now, what are you talking about?"

"There's a world," said The Lord of Illusions, "a world where heroes, villains and monsters are a part of everyday life. Most of the heroes and villains are just people in costumes, some trained to fight or enact evil, while a few have genuine powers and abilities.

"But there's one among them, a man whose strength is unmatched, a man who has stood in the face of unparalleled odds and overcame them as easily as swatting a fly! A man whose power is so beyond others even he doesn't know his limits! He is Saitama; The One Punch Man! We're all going to die!"

"At least you didn't call me 'Captain Baldy,'" said Saitama, "and I really that famous? Oh well, I never really wanted to be famous. At the end of the day, just saving the world is reward enough, that and finding really great shopping bargains."

"ZA WARUDO!"

Reality shifted colors like a photo negative.

"Time has been stopped," said Dio Brando as he walked among the immobilized in the ruined room, "and not a moment too soon I might say," he paused in front of Saitama, "though this might be a waste of my time."

At that Saitama turned at looked at Dio Brando, "oh, you talking to me? I'm sorry, I was lost in thought."

This caused Dio Brando to back away in shock, "no, impossible! How can you move when I stopped time?"

"Is that supposed to be a riddle?" asked Saitama, "oh, you're being serious. I guess I'm just that fast, I guess."

"No one's that fast! Not without a Stand!" shouted Dio Brando, "and my Stand is the most powerful of them all!" with that his Stand, The World, appeared and delivered a bone-crushing punch to Saitama's face.

Yet Saitama shrugged the blow off as if it were nothing. The World then unleashed a furious barrage of punches and kicks that only made Saitama blink.

"You're not that strong!" shouted a furious Dio Brando, "no one's that strong! No One!" with that he rushed at and tackled Saitama out of the room, resuming time as the two fell to the ground.

"What…what happened?" asked Elsa.

"Dio Brando! He hit us with his time whammy!" shouted Kairi, "but where is he? And…where's Saitama?"

"There!" shouted Elyon as she pointed down at the castle rubble, where Saitama and Dio Brando were engaged in a violent grapple. Rather, Dio Brando was doing all the attacking as he delivered so many punches and kicks at such speed, the normal eye only saw blurred limbs. Yet Saitama calmly blacked or dodged the blows.

"It's useless to fight me!" shouted Dio Brando, "Useless! USELESS!" he then unleashed his most devastating barrage of punches yet.

"Consecutive Normal Punches," said Saitama calmly as he blocked each of Dio Brando's punches with one of his own, with the final punch right between the foul man's eyes, completely obliterating the head before Dio Brando knew what happened. The stolen chimera body fell to the ground, dead as a doornail.

"Damn It!" exclaimed Saitama, "that was way too easy!"

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"That guy just blew Dio Brando away like dandelion fluff!" said a shocked Aiden, "who is he?"

"You heard what he said," said Sabrina, "a hero for fun."

"But how'd he get that strong?" asked Marceline, "I've seen heroes and villains in all shapes and sizes and nobody's even half that strong."

"Don't let Ramna know about Saitama," said Riku, "we'll never hear the end of his envy."

"We may not have to," said Malcolm in a subdued tone as the screen showed The Colossal Titan, recovered from his earlier fall, grabbed a distracted Saitama.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"Oh, boy," said Saitama as The Colossal Titan lifted him up, "I've never been eaten alive before, wonder if it'll hurt?"

But then a blond cyborg with a near fully metal body appeared on The Colossal Titan's arm. "Incinerate!" shouted the cyborg as he shot a double blast of white-hot fire from his hands at the creature's wrist, burning through it completely and sending Saitama and The Colossal Titan's dissolving hand falling to the ground.

"Oh, Genos," said Saitama as he broke free of the dissolving hand, ignoring the bellow of agony from The Colossal Titan, "you made it."

"Master Saitama!" said Genos as he jumped off the enraged Colossal Titan. Together he and Saitama landed safely on the ground, "you vanished without a word. I had to pull a lot of strings with The Hero Association to use an experimental portal generator to get here."

"Well, you're here now and we've got a lot of work to do," said Saitama. He then noticed an enormous shadow blocking the sun. He looked up and saw The Colossal Titan bearing down on the both of them.

"Excuse me, Master Saitama," said Genos, "this won't take a moment." With a snap of his metal fingers, Genos's cybernetic arms and chest expanded and morphed into one massive flame cannon.

"New upgrade, huh?" asked Saitama as a targeting scope formed on Genos, locking onto the torso of The Colossal Titan.

"BURNING BIG BANG!" shouted Genos as he fired a massive white-hot blast at The Colossal Titan. The creature responded with a blast of boiling-hot steam but the sun-like heat of Genos's attack evaporated the steam. The Colossal Titan was helpless as the blast covered his exposed flesh and inflicted devastating burns. With a tremendous crash, The Colossal Titan fell on his back.

The remaining Max Kildare alternates still able to fight ran to the fallen Colossal Titan and flipped him on his back, while two of the remaining Jill Sparrow alternates cut open the creature's neck. The gargantuan abomination dissolved as Bertold was pulled out kicking and screaming against his captors, only to be knocked unconscious with a psychic blast from an alternate Katina Jones.

"That's one Titan down," said Jean as he and Sasha tied the unconscious Bertold up.

"And here's the other two!" said Connie as he and a few Meta Humans lead the bound and gagged Annie and Reiner over.

"Eren!" shouted Mikasa as she saw Eren walk over.

"It's over, Mikasa," said Eren, "we got them all.

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"They got them," said a relieved Aiden, "they finally got them."

"Yeah, but it's not over yet," said Riku, "Aqua's still fighting Xehanort."

"I don't know who's winning," said Tess as she and the others watched the fight between the two Keybalde Masters, one light, one dark.

"Uh, aren't we forgetting someone?" asked Malcolm, "a certain corrupted Princess of Heart?"

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

With a shriek of fury, Darklight flew into the ruined room and glared at Kairi, Elyon and Elsa, "you three! You're all dead!" she aimed her black Keyblade and Kairi's Keyblade at Elyon, "starting with you, blondie!"

"I don't think so," said Elyon with a confident smile.

"Oh, and why not?" asked Darklight.

"Because there's someone who wants to talk to you," said Elyon. She then spoke into a blue crystal, "Now, Blunk."

A Fold appeared and from which emerged Blunk the Passling, leading a girl of about eleven years with shoulder-length blonde hair and brown eyes.

The sight of the girl caused Darklight to gasp in shock.

"You know this waif?!" demanded Katrina.

"She should know," said Elsa, "and so should you," she then glared at The Lord of Illusions, "especially you; one of your clones murdered her."

"I did kill her!" exclaimed The Lord of Illusions, "I mean, one of my doppelgangers did! She should be as dead as Jacob Marley!"

"Kate?" whispered Darklight, "is…is that you?"

"It's me, Bethany," said the girl, Kate Greenhill, "you look terrible."

"Don't listen to this imp!" shouted Katrina, "it's a trick! A tasteless ploy designed to confuse you!"

"It's no trick," said the blonde teenager as she appeared in the room, "it's Kate Greenhill alright, I should know, I brought her back to life," she looked at Kairi, "oh, that thing wearing Sora, it got away, sorry."

"Uh…okay, I guess," said Kairi, "who are you again?"

"You really don't recognize me, Kairi," said the girl, "I was kinda short last time we saw each other. It's me, Lillian Hale."

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" shouted Aiden as he grabbed the remote and paused the video, "hang on one fucking second!" He looked at Alegra and Sabrina, "you…you brought that girl back to life, didn't you! DIDN'T YOU!"

"Me? Bring a dead girl back to life?" asked Alegra, "I'm senile, not psychotic…wait…did I bring Kate Greenhill back to life?"

"It wasn't you," said Sabrina, "and it wasn't me."

"Well I certainly didn't," said Salem, "I wouldn't break such a taboo. No, I'd rather take over the world, but never resurrect the dead."

"Then who?" asked Aiden, "who would dare violate one of the most sacred unwritten laws in existence?"

"You're looking at her," said Prismo as he zoomed the image on the teenaged Lillian Hale.

"She did it?" asked Tess, "and how'd she grow up so fast? Last time we saw her she was like eight years old, now she's…what…eighteen?"

"Now that's the thing," said Alegra, "you see, after you all left Metamore for Rapture, a Doppelganger of The Lord of Illusions murdered Kate Greenhill, causing Bethany's heart to crack open and allowed darkness to pour in."

"Alegra used her to create Darklight, we know," said Tess, "but what happened on Metamore?"

"Lillian," said Alegra, "you already know she has, or should I say had, tremendous magical potential, so much potential that her powers were put in trust with Matt Olsen and the other two Heralds, but not all of it.

"When Lillian saw her new friend dead and Beathany's cracked heart, something incredible awoke in Lillian; something even I do not fully understand."

"Long story short," said Salem, "the kid drew on magic from the future, her future."

"She's supposed to be the one to bring magic back to her world," said Sabrina, "and she started it a little early by borrowing it from herself. I know it's confusing."

"Lillian then used her borrowed magic to bring Kate back to life no worse for wear," said Alegra, "but such a tremendous feat of magic required a tremendous price. Lillian had to give up ten years of her own lifespan, aging her body in the process."

"So, technically, she's now Cornelia's big sister," said Tess, "wow, I hate to be in Cornelia's shoes when she tried to explain that to her family."

"You think she's got problems?" asked Sabrina, "I'm the one who's been away from home a lot longer than expected. What am I supposed to tell my aunts? 'Sorry Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, I kinda got caught up in saving the multi-verse?'"

"Don't forget about Harvey," said Salem, "boy, is he gonna be upset."

"Don't get me started about Harvey," said Sabrina in a morose tone.

"Then, is Kate really alright?" asked Aiden.

"Yep, she's fine" said Death, startling everyone except for Prismo and The Cosmic Owl, "she's more than alright. She remembers dying and will remember until she dies again, but other than that she's completely fine."

"You're late, Death," said The Cosmic Owl, "what kept you?"

"Oh, you know me," said Death as he pulled up a chair and sat down, "wherever there's fighting and killing, I'm there to guide the dearly departed to the other side."

"You're friends with Death?" Riku asked Finn.

"Oh yeah, he's cool," said Finn.

"And he knows his way around six strings," said Marceline, "we should jam again sometime, Death."

"I'll see when I'm available," said Death.

"As if this adventure wasn't weird enough," said Malcolm as Aiden resumed the video.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"Bethany, please remember," said Kate, "remember who you are."

"She is Lady Darklight, you insipid imp!" shouted Katrina.

"She is Bethany Greenhill, my sister," said Kate, "she just needs to remember her humanity. She needs to remember that she is loved."

"She doesn't love! She cannot love!" shouted Katrina, "I cracked her heart and filled it with darkness! She is a Princess of Dark, now and forever more!"

"Oh shut up!" shouted Elsa as she froze Katrina's lips shut, "wow, that really felt good."

"Please. Bethany," said Kate as she walked towards Darklight, "remember. Remember all the times we pranked our neighbors on Halloween? We must have used twelve dozen eggs in a single night, and on just one house."

"A gross of eggs on one house?" asked an impressed Kairi.

"It…was…a…big house," said Darklight hesitantly.

"She's remembering," said Lillian, "keep going, Kate!"

"And remember when mom and dad got me my first bike and you all taught me how to ride?" asked Kate, "and the time we were by ourselves while mom and dad were on their second honeymoon?" she held up her hand and showed a small scar between her thumb and forefinger, "remember how I got this?"

"I…I broke a crystal bowl while tossing a baseball in the house," said Darklight, "the babysitter was at the supermarket and I asked you to help me clean it up before she got back. You cut your hand pretty bad."

"It wasn't that bad a cut," said Kate, "but it hurt and the blood really freaked me out. The babysitter came home then and took us to the emergency room, and called mom and dad."

"We had to wait in the ER for hours," said Darklight, "long enough for mom and dad to break the speed limit and get home. They got to the hospital just as they were stitching your hand."

"The stitches hurt more than getting cut," said Kate, "the nurse gave me some kind of painkiller but it didn't work, even after four or five injections. The doctor said to stitch me up anyway; five stitches and each one hurt more than the last."

"Mom and dad got in around the third stitch," said Darklight, "they were so mad at me but we all laughed when you said…you said…"

"I said 'the next time you break something, you clean it up!'" said Kate, "I didn't laugh but you, mom and dad did."

"I was grounded for a month," said Darklight, "and you got all the ice cream you could eat while your hand healed."

"That's right! She got everything while you got punished!" shouted Katrina after thawing out her mouth, "she's always been the perfect little sister while you got passed over and treated like crap!"

"Shut up, you evil woman!" shouted Kate, "mom and dad loved us both! And I got in just as much trouble as Bethany did!" She looked at Darklight, "you and I weren't the best behaved kids, but mom and dad loved us and we loved each other, and you loved baseball."

"Here's something I borrowed from the past," said Lillian as she summoned a baseball bat, "don't know how I'll pay for it, but I'll worry about it later."

"Remember this?" asked Kate as she took the baseball bat and handed it to Darklight.

"This...this is mine," said an astonished Darklight as she looked at the baseball bat, "my first bat! But…I thought it was gone, along with everything of our world!"

"I told you, I used magic to get it from the past," said Lillian, "boy, am I gonna be paying for that one later."

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"I think she's really getting to her," said Tess, "but how'd Lillian think of bring back one of Bethany's prized possessions?"

"That was my idea," said Sabrina. "When we went back to Metamore to get The Guardians and company ready, I asked Kate if she could think of something Bethany knew, something that could help her remember."

"Now that was a good idea," says Malcolm.

"And it's working," said Riku, "look!"

Darklight had fallen to her knees in tears as Kate ran up to and embraced her, the fallen Princess of Heart dropping both Keyblades.

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"NO!" shouted Katrina, "get away from my Princess of Dark, you little bitch!" she raised her hands to zap Kate.

"No you don't!" shouted Elyon as she, Lillian and Elsa stood in front of Katrina, combining their magic to block Katrina's. All the while, a glowing white light shone from Kate's heart and connected with Darklight's cracked heart, infusing new love and light and expelling the darkness.

The appearance of Darklight and the black Keyblade shattered, leaving Bethany Greenhill crying on Kate's shoulder as her heart healed.

"I think this belongs to you," said Lillian as she picked up Kairi's Keyblade.

"It sure does," said Kairi as she summoned her Keyblade back to her hands. She then faced an outraged Katrina, "it's over Katrina! Your best weapon is gone!"

"And we'll make sure you never create another Princess of Dark!" said Elsa, "your reign of terror is over!"

"No, it's not over," said Katrina wrathfully, "It's over when I say it's over, and it won't be over until I have The Sampo!"

"Face it, Katrina!" said Elyon, "you've lost! You can't shatter any more Keyholes!"

"You would think that, wouldn't you!" snapped Katrina, "well, I haven't lasted this long without having a few aces of my own in the hole! Do it now, Leslie!"

"With pleasure," said The Lord of Illusions as he pulled out his phone and sent out a prearranged text.

"What did you do?!" demanded Kairi.

"Sent a signal to three of my doppelgangers," said The Lord of Illusions, "each waiting in orbit around a different world in The Realms of Light, and each with a Dark Spear Katrina assembled in advance, just in case."

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"Dark Spear?" asked Riku, "now what?"

"She doesn't need Darklight to crack open a Keyhole," said a shocked Tess, "she can condense Heartless into a weapon. She tried to do it to Enchancia, but…"

"But that took thousands and thousands of Heartless to make," said Malcolm, "she couldn't have made another so soon, let alone three, could she?"

"She did," said Prismo as he showed three videos of worlds seen from high orbit; Dwarf Woodlands, Castle of Dreams and Atlantica, all of all of which had a gray Gummy Ship piloted by a trickster doppelganger, as well as a Dark Spear. The three constructs of condensed darkness then fell towards their targets, each hitting and cracking open their respective Keyholes and flooding the worlds with darkness.

"I didn't see this coming," said a horrified Alegra, while Sabrina, Salem, Riku, Tess, Malcolm, Aiden, Finn, Jake and Marceline looked on in shocked silence.

 **The End of Chapter 8.**

 _Next chapter brings the Keyblade Wielders back together at last as they scramble to stop Katrina before she completes her diabolic machinations for immortality. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	10. Chapter 9: Reunion Before the Storm

_Last time found the battle for Radiant Garden's Keyhole taking a turn for the worse as Katrina and Darklight overcame all of Kairi's efforts to stop them. But fate, or rather Sabrina, smiled on our heroes as Elyon, Elsa and Lillian, long story, stopped the vile witch and Princess of Dark at the last second. Things got even better when Lillian revealed she brought back to life Kate Greenhill, whom then proceeded to heal Darklight's corrupted heart, thereby restoring Bethany to her former self. But Katrina wasn't one to act without a backup plan as she unleased three Dark Spears on three other worlds, smashing open their Keyholes and flooding said worlds in darkness, all the while Riku and the others in The Time Room watched helplessly. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 9: Reunion Before the Storm**

… **Radiant Garden…**

"This…this can't be," said a shocked Kairi as she watched the night sky as, one by one, the light from Dwarf Woodlands, The Castle of Dreams and Atlantica went out.

"Believe me, Kairi, it's happening," said Katrina as she summoned images of the three worlds from orbit, displaying in their unholy glory as they were drowned in darkness. "I always have a backup plan, or in this case, three backup plans!"

"She taught us how to condense Heartless into Dark Spears," said The Lord of Illusions, "and set my fellows in waiting, just in case."

"Plans within plans, Kairi" said Katrina. "I'd love to stay and gloat some more, but I've a Sampo to forge and twelve worlds worth of darkness to channel. Enjoy what little time you have left, for the age of light is over. The Time of the Dark, _my_ Time of the Dark, has begun!"

With that the dark witch laughed like the villainess she was and zapped herself offworld.

"It's been nice playing with you and yours, Kairi," said The Lord of Illusions, "but the game's almost over; you lose." With that the vile trickster teleported away.

"This…this can't be happening," said Kairi as she fell to her knees, "it…it just can't be!"

"It is," said The Lich as it appeared in front of Kairi, "it is inevitable. Just as live inevitably gives way to death, so does light give way to darkness."

"That's not true!" shouted Elyon, "yes, day and night have their cycles, but the light will never submit to darkness! Not as long as there's one person who keeps the light going in their heart!"

"What she said," agreed Elsa.

"And your darkness is done, you bodysnatching fiend!" shouted Lillian, "just you wait till I get my hands on you and rip you out of Sora, then I'll…"

"Be quiet," said The Lich, and Lillian found she couldn't talk, as did Elyon and Elsa.

"Why struggle further?" The Lich asked Kairi, "when it's so much easier to accept fate," it stepped towards Kairi with one hand outstretched, a hand that glowed with green fire, the flesh morphing into decaying, long-fingered claws, "one touch and your struggles will end. You will no longer feel fear, nor pain, nor suffer ever again. One touch and you will have peace."

"Peace," said a depressed Kairi, "that kinda sounds like a good deal right about now."

At that Elyon, Elsa and Lillian tried to warn Kairi away but their voices failed.

"Stay!" said The Lich to the three blonde magic users, freezing them in place.

"No more pain, no more problems," said Kairi.

"Yes," said The Lich as it reached towards Kairi, its vile hand mere inches from her forehead, "nothing but peaceful rest and eternal tranquility."

But the foul hand of The Lich stopped before it could touch Kairi.

"What…what is this?!" demanded The Lich as it tried to touch Kairi but couldn't, its hand shaking violently with resistance, "why can't I…my host is fighting me!"

"Sora, he's still in you!" said Kairi as she hastily got to her feet and backed away, "That's it, Sora! Keep fighting that thing!"

With a roar of disgust, The Lich turned away, "keep your pathetic life, what good it will do you with the little time you have left!" with that the foul creature possessing Sora summoned a Dark Corridor and stepped through.

The necromancer's spell broken, Elyon ran to Kairi, as did Elsa and Lillian, "you alright, Kairi?" asked Elyon.

"I don't know," said Kairi, "for a second I felt Sora fighting back against that unholy spirit. His heart and mine are still connected," she then looked up at the sky, seeing the empty spots that had lost their stars, "but even if we can free Sora from that decaying devil…"

"We'll figure something out," said Elyon, "at least we saved Radiant Garden."

"And reunited two lost sisters," said Elsa as she saw the embracing Greenhill siblings.

"But at what cost?" asked Kairi as she looked at the devastation wrought upon her world; the destroyed castle and town and hundreds if not thousands of casualties.

Just then Cornelia landed and ran up to her younger/older sister, "You alright, Lillian? Did that rotten thing hurt you? Did it bite you?"

"I'm fine, Cornelia," said Lillian, "just disappointed that the thing wearing Sora got away."

"It's still Sora," said Kairi, "he tried to reach me, I know it."

"Sora's alive?" asked Will as she, Irma, Tarane and Hay Lin landed.

"If that's the case," said Taranee, "what do we do now?"

"I don't know," said Kairi as exhaustion took its toll on her, "I just don't know."

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"She outsmarted me," said Sabrina as she watched Katrina return to Castle Oblivion, dancing with dark joy at her victory, "she's not even _my_ evil twin and she outsmarted me!"

"Don't take it so hard," said Alegra, "it won't be the last time a nemesis outwits you. What's important is that you learn and do better next time."

"There may not be a next time," said Riku, "Katrina has twelve drowned worlds to draw darkness into that Sampo of hers."

"Are you suggesting we give up?" asked Tess.

"Absolutely not!" said Riku, "we're going to Kairi and help her get through this awful mess," he glared at Alegra and Sabrina, "assuming we finally have your permission to go."

"May we go help our friends now?" Aiden asked sarcastically.

"Oh…yes, of course, go," said Alegra, "sorry, I was having a Vietnam flashback just now."

"Wait, you were in Vietnam?" asked Sabrina.

"No, but I heard it was awful," said Alegra.

"Uh…right," said a concerned Tess, "We'll just be going now…"

Just then there was a flash of light and a clap of deafening noise just out the window as The Intrepid Heart appeared outside in the infinite void.

"What the…!" exclaimed Aiden as the hatch opened on the Gummy Ship and from it emerged an outraged Sidney.

"There you blokes are!" shouted the holographic AI, "do you have any idea how worried you made me when you just up and disappeared like that?! And do you have any idea how long it took me to find this weird dimension!?"

"Believe me, it really was hard figuring out how to get the ship to The Time Room," said Princess Bubblegum as she, Flame Princess, Cinnamon Bun, Lumpy Space Princess, Ice King and Peppermint Butler, exited The Intrepid Heart.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Finn.

"Duh! We're here to help!" said Lumpy Space Princess.

"You'd think he'd be more grateful that we came all this way to help," said Cinnamon Bun.

"If he doesn't want our help, we'll just go back to Ooo," said Flame Princess.

"Sounds good to me!" said Ice King, "party at my place!"

"No, we want your help!" said Malcolm, "we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Then let's go and do this already!" said Aiden as he pressed his wrists. With that our heroes and allies boarded The Intrepid Heart.

"Good luck, you kids," said Salem, "you're gonna need it."

"You're not coming?" asked Tess.

"Let's just say I have my reasons why I have to stay and watch," said Sabrina.

"I won't be much help," said Alegra, "not with my mind falling apart."

"And where Sabrina goes, I go," said Salem as he summoned more tuna.

"Birthday suit yourselves," said Marceline, "more heroics for us."

"What time is it?!" asked Jake.

"ADVENTURE TIME!" shouted our heroes and allies as the hatch closed on The Intrepid Heart. The Gummy Ship maneuvered away from The Time Room and jumped dimensions.

"They'll be alright," said Prismo.

"I sincerely hope so," said Alegra as she picked up the remote. The TV now showed many potential future events, some of them ending well for our heroes, while others ended horrifically. Yet for every clear outcome, there was at least one image that showed nothing but static.

"There's so much uncertainty now," said Alegra, "damn my ailing mind! I can't see clearly anymore!"

"You really are losing it," said Sabrina as she fully accepted just how far gone her friend and mentor was, "I'm…I'm so sorry."

"I know it's hard to take in," said Alegra, "I'm still having trouble accepting that my meddling days are almost over, and it's been a long time coming."

"How long have you known you were sick?" asked Sabrina, "that you were coming apart at the seams?"

"I can't remember the exact moment I realized I had Alzheimer's," said Alegra, "but I can tell you when I should have realized something was wrong," she placed her hand on her chin thoughtfully, "It was…oh…about fifteen or twenty…no, definitely fifteen years, yes, fifteen years before I openly made contact with Sora and the other Keyblade Wielders. At the time I was still on the trail of my arch-nemesis, The Puppeteer, did I tell you about him?"

"That psycho wizard with a fetish for controlling people and kept jumping bodies every hundred years or so to live forever? Yeah, you told me," said Sabrina.

"Well I spent many, many, many moons chasing after the bastard," said Alegra, "so many dead ends and false leads. I had reached one of those dead ends and believe me, I was so frustrated, I was ready to up and quit. Seriously, I was ready to retire and it wasn't the first time in my long career I thought about putting myself out to pasture.

"Instead, I settled on a nice, long holiday on a world safe from the darkness, or so I thought. There I was, relaxing on Earth C-9341 in a land called Auradon, a rather interesting place which I hope you'll check out someday. If you don't, you can read about it in my files, remind me to show them to you before I completely forget about them.

"Anyway, I was enjoying my holiday in Auradon, when I accidentally discovered a conspiracy that threatened to destroy not only that world but many others across time and space. With my holiday abruptly canceled, I sought out the right group of heroes and aces to combat this evil. I did tell you about The Sailor Senshi, right?"

"Yeah, they teamed up with The Keyblade Wielders a few times," said Sabrina.

"Well, this was a different group of Sailor Senshi," said Alegra, "Earth C-246. I was supposed to arrive in late 20th Century Tokyo and recruit The Sailor Senshi one year after their battle with Galaxia. Instead, I found myself in early 31st Century Crystal Tokyo, over a thousand years later than I meant to arrive.

"Now, I admit I've made plenty of mistakes in my adventures, often embarrassing, sometimes catastrophic, but never have I been so far off my chronological destination. I should have known then and there that something was drastically wrong with my thought process. I should have sought medical help then and there, but no, I had to keep going with the mission and send the Sailor Senshi of that time into battle, and before you ask, you can read about the incident in my files."

"Well, there's no way you could have known you were sick at the time," said Sabrina, "you think a millennium miss is a huge mistake? Take a look at my life."

"I did," said Alegra, "and despite your misadventures, you're turning out alright," she sighed, "I wish I will. I just…I just wish I could see and think clearly again!"

"Can she?" Sabrina asked Prismo.

"Sorry, she already made her wish long ago," said Prismo, he looked at Salem, "just as you did when you wished for your magic back."

"Don't remind me," said Salem, "I could have wished for an endless supply of goodies to eat."

"You would have become so fat, it wouldn't have been funny," said Prismo, "the irony being the lack of humor."

"Or wished to be a man again," said Sabrina.

"Oh gosh, you're right!" exclaimed Salem, "I could have been my old, handsome self again and I blew it! Yeah, i got my magic back, but I had to extend my sentence indefinitely! Now I'm gonna be a cat forever!" he then sobbed pathetically. "I hate irony!"

"At least you two have each other," said Alegra, "I spent thousands of years alone without so much as a goldfish."

"Speaking of wishes," said Prismo as the TV now showed The Intrepid Heart arriving on Radiant Garden, disgorging its passengers as they ran towards the ruined castle, "Riku still has a wish to make."

"Ah, so we have at least one ace up our sleeves," said Alegra.

"Should we tell him?" asked Sabrina.

"Let's keep this one to ourselves for now," said Alegra as Riku and the others reached Kairi, "last thing anyone needs is irony getting in the way."

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…**

"Riku, is it really you?" asked an astonished Kairi as Riku, Aiden, Tess and Malcolm reached the castle just as Kairi walked out among the rubble, "are you guys really back?"

"We're no hallucination, Kairi," said Riku, "we're back."

"Good," said Kairi. She then picked up a brick and threw it at Riku, whom barely ducked, "Now hold still so I can kill you all!" she picked up more pieces of ruined castle and threw them at her friends.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed Aiden as he, Malcolm and Tess took cover, while Riku blocked the flying pieces of rubble with his Keyblade.

"This isn't the way to maintain a friendship, Kairi!" exclaimed Tess.

"Some friends you are!" said Kairi as she picked up a bigger chunk of masonry and threw it at Riku. He sliced it in half, only for a smaller piece to hit him on the forehead, knocking him to the ground.

"Stop it, Kairi!" shouted Elyon as she, Elsa and Lillian ran up to her, "you're hurting him!"

"Good, they should feel some of the pain I went through!" said Kairi as she threw more rubble at Aiden, Tess and Malcolm, only for Aqua to run up, block all the pieces with her Keyblade, then hit Kairi with a mild stunning spell, knocking the upset monarch off her feet where Elyona and Elsa caught her.

"Nice shooting," said Aiden, while Tess ran to Riku, whom had a bleeding gash above his eyes.

"I only wish I was as effective against Darklight," said Aqua as she used a healing spell on Riku's forehead, "and against Xehanort, he got away along with the other villains."

"We know," said Riku as Tess helped him stand up, "We didn't see much of your fight with Xehanort, but it was a good fight."

"I held my own and that was it," said a frustrated Aqua, "I couldn't even make him sweat!"

"Don't hold it against yourself, Aqua," said King Mickey as he limped between the shoulders of Donald and Goofy up to our heroes, "you did the best you could."

"Your majesty!" said Riku as he and the others bowed, "are you…?"

"I'll be fine, Riku," said The King, "I just need a few minutes to catch my breath, and then I'll be ready to fight again."

"I don't think so!" said Queen Minnie as she and Daisy walked up, a look of outraged concern on The Queen's face, "the only place you're going is straight to the hospital!"

"Oh, Minnie, I'm fine," said King Mickey.

"You almost died, you big dummy!" said Daisy irately, then blushed in embarrassment, "I mean, your majesty, I…"

"You don't have to apologize, Daisy," said Queen Minnie, "The King has been rather bullheaded recently. Donald, Goofy, be so kind as to escort The King to the hospital and tie him down, and don't let him back up until the doctors say he's fully recovered."

"Yes, Queen Minnie!" said Donald, while Goofy saluted. With that they began dragging King Mickey out of the area.

"Wait! You can't do this!" protested King Mickey, "come on, fellas! I'm alright!"

"Sorry, your majesty, but the queen's orders are the queen's orders," said Goofy.

"Besides, you owe her," said Donald.

"I did say I'd get you for how you treated me back at Shadowhaunt," said Queen Minnie, "oh, and boys? If The King keeps protesting, give him some really bitter medicine to swallow."

"You heard The Queen," said Donald to King Mickey, "so shut up!"

"I figured I'd wind up in the doghouse," said King Mickey as his friends dragged him out of the area, with Queen Minnie and Daisy following, "just not like this."

"They'll be alright," said RIku, "I'm more worried about another monarch."

"I'm fine, Riku," said Kairi as Elyon and Elsa helped her stand up, "it's just been a really bad time for me."

"You think you've had it rough?" asked Aiden, "wait till you hear what we had to go through in Enchancia."

"And then what we had to go through in Ooo," said Malcolm.

"KAIRI!" shouted Sidney as she ran into the area and hugged the young redheaded queen, "I was so worried about you!"

"For a hologram she sure can run," said Jake as he and the others from Ooo reached the area.

"Sidney's no ordinary hologram," said Aiden.

"Oh, Kairi," said Malcolm, "these are our friends from Ooo; that's Finn, Jake, Marceline, Bonnie, Phoebe, Cinnamon Bun, Peppermint Butler and Simon, he's crazy but he's cool." Both he and Ice King laughed at his unintentional pun.

"Glad to meet you all," said Kairi, "and I'm you and the others are back, Riku," she smiled confidently.

It was then that Ansem walked up to our heroes, "good to see you, young Keyblade Wielders. I'm sure you have quite a story to tell."

"Do we ever," said an exasperated Tess.

"How bad was it here, Ansem?" asked Riku, "we only saw highlights of the battle, long story, but…"

"How many casualties?" asked Ansem, "not as many as you might thing. That impossibly strong man, Saitama, he managed to bring almost all the wounded to the hospital faster than even I could believe. Of the hundreds of wounded, less than fifty died, and most of the rest are expected to make full recoveries."

"That's something," said a relieved Riku. He then saw the thoughtful smile on Kairi, "now what are you up to?"

"I was thinking," said Kairi.

"Obviously," said Aiden, "but of what?"

"That I'm tired of reacting to whatever Katrina and her crew throw at us," said Kairi, "it's time we did some throwing of our own."

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…a few hours later…**

"How much longer is she going to dance like that?" asked Regina as she and the other villains observed Katrina's joyous movements.

"As long as she wants," said The Lord of illusions, "this is the happiest she's been in a long, long time, and she'll only get happier from here on out."

"Doubtful," said Regina, "it's only a matter of time before Kairi and her followers regroup and attack."

This slowed Katrina's dancing as she looked at Regina, "and what makes you think she has the heart to do so? I've won and she knows it!"

"You haven't won yet," said Regina, "yes, you managed to drown twelve worlds in darkness and are assembling your precious Sampo, but there's still the possibility that you'll fail."

"I left Kairi wallowing in the depths of despair!" snapped Katrina as she stopped dancing and glared at Regina, "she might as well kill herself before the true darkness drowns out all light in The Realms and beyond!"

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" asked Young Xehanort, "and it had better be a good enough reason to put my business with Aqua on hiatus again."

"And cost me the source of my Titan Heartless hybrids!" snapped Insnao, "I have enough of Annie's blood to make another batch or two, but once it's gone I can't make any more; without those Titan Power brats, no more Titan Heartless!"

"As if I need them," said Katrina, "not after I claim what's rightfully mine!"

"What's this that's yours that you want so much?!" demanded Regina, "I think it's time you told us what you're really after."

"And it'd better be worth all our time, effort and losses," said Young Xehanort.

"Why, nothing less than immortality," said Katrina with a wicked smile, "true immortality, not the pathetic imitation my people so falsely laud about like a bauble!"

"So, you're not immortal," said Sephiroth.

"I can still age and die," said Katrina, "but once The Sampo is complete, I shall use it to forge a new Gem of Immortality, one vastly superior to that piece of junk of Mondain's! And with The Gem of Immortality in my hands, I shall launch an endless age of darkness that will snuff out the light once and for all!"

"You can still lose," said Regina, "For all we know they're already on their way!"

"Let them come! They'll fail," said Katrina, "there's nothing Kairi or anyone can do to stop me!"

Just then came a loud klaxon alarm. A quick turn of the Intensifier Disk at Young Xehnaort's hand revealed Cloud, Leon, Quistis, Zell, Rinoa, Irvine, Tidus, Wakka, Lulu, Kimhari and The Gullwings exiting Rinoa's stealth Gummy Ship and entering the castle via a storm drain.

"Told you they were coming," said Regina.

"How! How did they get here so quickly?!" exclaimed Young Xehanort.

"What difference does it make?" asked Sephiroth, "they're here, that's all that matters."

"Well, maybe they wouldn't have gotten the jump on us if someone had been keeping watch while we were away!" said Young Xehanort.

"I did keep watch," said Sephiroth.

"But you were too busy watching this idiot box," said Regina as she pointed at the Interocitor.

"I wasn't!" insisted Sephiroth, "I was keeping watch as I said I would!"

"Is that all you were doing?" asked Young Xehanort.

"Yes," said Sephiroth, "and…"

"And what?" asked Young Xehanort.

"What difference does it make?" asked Katrina, "let them come, they can't stop me from forging The Gem of Immortality!"

Regina ignored this and turned the Intensifier Disk, focusing the screen back on Radiant Garden, where Kairi shaking hands with Reddik and Rakel, while Riku, Aiden, Tess, Malcolm and the gang from Ooo stood next to The Intrepid Heart. With them were all the Meta Humans, AT units, Faeries and Survey Corps still able to fight as they boarded Gummy Ships and New Zumakali transport ships.

"You were saying about Kairi wallowing in misery?" asked Regina.

"Do my eyes deceive me or is that Riku and the other Keyblade Wielders?" asked Young Xehanort.

"It can't be!" exclaimed The Lord of Illusions, "Tess and that other two should still be in Enchancia, and I don't even know where Riku wound up."

"It appears to me that they're getting ready for war," said Sephiroth.

"I don't care," said Katrina coldly, "let them come! They can't stop the completion of The Sampo." She then looked at Young Xehanort, Regina and Sepiroth, "assuming you and the goggled one are able to hold them off. Where is the goggled one anyway?"

"Insano slunk off to sulk in his lab," said Regina, "as for me…

The Lich then interrupted her, "assuming your master craftsman is capable," said the unholy entity possessing Sora, "assuming he can assemble The Sampo. Not everything is certain"

"It will work!" said Katrina as she summoned an image of Cid in the workshop, putting the final touches on The Sampo, "it'd better work." She then zapped herself out of the room…

* * *

...and into the workshop, "well?" she asked, "is it finished?"

"Almost," said Cid.

"No tricks, old man," said Katrina, "for your sake," she then zapped up the boxes with the thee girl's hearts, "and theirs. If anything goes wrong, they'll die, horribly."

"Don't worry, it'll work," said Cid, I just need one more thing and I'll be done."

"And you shall have it," said Katrina as she zapped into her hand the horn of Sombra. She gave it to Cid, "remember, any funny business and," she ran a finger across her throat, then pointed at Selphie, Yuffie and Aerith.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Cid as he fused the horn to The Sampo. The horn glowed an evil red, vastly contrasting against the beautiful glow of The Sampo itself.

"There's your precious Sampo, you evil witch," said Cid, "now let my friends go!"

"After I have what I want," said Katrina. She then zapped herself, her vile allies, Cid and The Sampo to the tallest tower in the castle, blasting away the roof.

"Stop teleporting us around like we're toys for your enjoyment!" snapped Regina.

"Oh, you'll enjoy this part," said Katrina, "I shall now draw forth the darkness from the twelve drowned worlds, channeling that darkness into The Sampo through Sombra's horn," she then summoned a large red ruby, "and fuse that darkness into this Sunstone, thereby creating my very own Gem of Immortality!"

"You'd better do it fast," said Insano at the top of the stairs, "have you seen what they're doing on Radiant Garden?"

"I know, they're getting ready to fight," said Katrina, "doesn't matter. They'll be too late to stop me!"

"Your calculations may be a bit off," said the goggled madman as he pulled out a tablet linked to The Interocitor. It showed The Intrepid Heart in orbit around Radiant Garden with the other Gummy Ships and New Zumakali transports. The fleet of ships then linked up with more starships, warships, some of which bore the markings of SeeD, while others flew the flag of New Zumakali.

"It appears Kairi has been busy while you were performing your extended victory dance," said Regina to Katrina.

"How long?" asked Sephiroth.

"Soon," said Insano as the combined fleet entered Hyperspace.

"Long enough for you lot to get ready to hold them off," said Katrina, "and you, Leslie, are your doppelgangers ready?"

"Ready as they'll ever be," said The Lord of Illusions. He took the tablet from an irate Insano and tuned The Interocitor to show first one, then another drowned world from orbit, each having another Lord of Illusions in an EVA suit and maneuvering pack.

"There's one of me above each dark world," said The Lord of Illusions, "all waiting for your signal to send the darkness here. It's straining my original self to the limit to have so many doppelgangers at once, but we're ready."

"The signal is given," said Katrina coldly. She then stood before The Sampo and began chanting a spell, while on the screen the twelve copies of The Lord of Illusions used their magic to draw forth and send the darkness towards Castle Oblivion.

"Now what?" asked Regina.

"Now?" asked Young Xehanort, "now we prepare for our unwelcome guests to arrive. Let Kairi, Riku and the others come, they'll regret it."

"What about the intruders already here?" asked Sephiroth.

"What about them?" asked Young Xehanort.

"That's what I asked," said Sephiroth, "fear not, I shall deal with them."

"As will I," said The Lich, "my…project, is ready."

"You do that," said Young Xehanort, "I've work to do," he looked at Regina, "as do you."

Regina merely nodded in acknowledgement, yet the former evil queen's mind was racing, planning her escape, for it was indeed time to cut and run.

Yet part of her, a part stronger than her sense of self-preservation, wanted to see this conflict to the end, if only to satisfy her curiosity. And though Regina anticipated she would regret it later, she also felt like she needed to be here for what was sure to be the final battle.

 **The End of Chapter 9.**

 _Next chapter begins the catastrophic climax that will decide the fate of the entire Multi-Verse. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	11. Chapter 10: Storming the Castle

_Last time found our heroes reunited with Kairi in the aftermath of the cracking of the final three Keyholes, thanks to Katrina's foul backup plan. Yet seeing her fellow Keyblade Wielders reinvigorated Kairi's spirits and inspired her to go on the offensive against Katrina, whom, with the completed Sampo, began the insidious process of forging her new Gem of Immortality. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 10: Storming the Castle**

 **…Hyperspace…**

Kairi sat in her bunk on The Intrepid Heart as the combined fleet cruised faster than light towards Castle Obvlivion. She had at least an hour before she had to leave the quiet sanctuary of her bunk for the bridge, an hour before the armada of Gummy Ships and starships from SeeD and New Zumakalis returned to normal space, an hour before what was sure to be the final battle commenced.

Naturally, Kairi was afraid of what was going to happen, yet confident that all will be well, somehow. No, what truly made Kairi nervous was the fact that, despite her best efforts, she didn't know what to say when the time comes.

Ever since The Intrepid Heart and the rest of the fleet jumped into Hyperspace, Kairi had secluded herself in her bunk in order to come up with a stirring speech to deliver to her friends and allies.

Yet despite her best efforts, despite researching various historical and fictional speeches given on the eve of battle, Kairi found herself uninspired. Nothing she could think of seemed right or suitable for such an important event that would decide the fate of all of time and space.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Kairi's thoughts kept drifting back to Sora. He was still alive inside his possessed body. The vile spirit controlling him hadn't crushed his heart.

Kairi knew she should be focusing on stopping Katrina, but she couldn't help but think of how to save Sora. Like her speech, Kairi's musings got her nowhere, but she wasn't going to give up on either. If only she could think clearly…

She got up and was about to walk about the Gummy Ship to clear her head, when came a knock on her door.

"Come in," sighed Kairi, clearly not in the mood for conversation. Her mood improved when she saw Asuna walk in.

"You okay?" Asuna asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Not really," said Kairi, "I'm frustrated. I'm ready to fight, just like everyone else is, but I don't know what to say to everyone before we fight."

"I can't tell you the number of times Kirito-kun and I got tongue tied before we started a major battle," said Asuna as she sat next to her 'online daughter.'

"I can imagine," said Kairi, "just what have you and 'dad' been up to since I left your world? We never got a chance to really catch up."

"Well, let's see," said Asuna, "after we beat Hell House and helped you get home, Kirito-kun was asked to help the same government official in charge of the SAO incident. There was trouble brewing with another VRMMORPG, Gun Gale Online; very similar to SAO and ALO but with guns instead of swords and magic.

"Long story short, Kirito-kun helped stopped a murderer who was using online scenarios to kill people in the real world. He also made a new friend and helped cure her phobia of guns," Asuna then laughed, "all the while using a girl's avatar.

"After that, we all took part in a really big quest that prevented a failsafe program from deleting ALO permanently, and won a really powerful sword in the process. Then I had problems with my mom in the real world; she didn't want me to play the game anymore and focus on going to school and finding a husband," she frowned, "it really was a bad time for me."

"Wish I could remember any times with my mother," said Kairi, "good or bad. Almost everything before I met Sora and Riku is a blur."

"Well, it turned out alright in the end," said Asuna, "all thanks to a new friend I made online. Yuuki," she sighed and shed a few tears, "she died in the real world of AIDS, but not before we went on a grand adventure and made virtual history for being the first to clear a new dungeon."

"I'm sorry you lost your friend," said Kairi, "I wish I could have been there for you."

"Me too," said Asuna as she and Kairi hugged, "but Yuuki died with a smile on her face and surrounded by her friends. After that Kirito-kun and I didn't have much time to play for fun; we had to train with The Night Scholars to help you."

"Wait, how long as hit been since I left?" asked Kairi.

"Almost a year," said Asuna.

"Well, time does fly when you're getting ready to save the multi-verse," said Kairi.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" said Asuna eagerly as she pulled out what looked like an advanced webcam, "thanks to meeting Yuuki, Kirito-kun invented this. Yuuki's illness was so advanced she couldn't leave the hospital and spent all her time online. But with this she was able to see and hear the real world again, and it allowed someone else to see and hear the real world for the first time."

Asuna turned the camera on and placed it on her shoulder. From the camera's speaker came a familiar voice, " _Oneechan_! Is that you?"

"Yui!" exclaimed Kairi as she looked into the camera, "how…how is…"

"Not only can we use our online avatars in the real world," said Asuna, "we can communicate with the ALO servers back in our world, all thanks to Kirito-kun, but he's too modest to take all the credit."

"But it was papa's idea in the first place," said Yui, "oh, Kairi, it's so good to see you again! I only wish I could be there in person, but I'm rooting for you! Go get 'em!"

At that Kairi laughed heartily. She, Asuna and Yuki then talked about their various exploits in both the real and virtual worlds. They would have kept talking all the way to Castle Oblivion, had not an unexpected yet highly welcome visitor popped in.

"Kairi!" exclaimed Lara Dunbar as she materialized in the room, startling Kairi, Asuna and Yui. Lara then nearly fell down, "wow, teleporting through hyperspace was a mistake. I think I'm gonna hurl!"

"Don't do that!" exclaimed Kairi as she fought to calm her pounding heart, "are you trying to scare me to death?! I'm under enough stress as it is. Oh, Asuna, this is Lara, she's a friend and magic user. Lara, this is Asuna and Yui, my 'mother and sister,' long story."

"Uh…okay," said Lara as her stomach settled and her balance came back, "nice to meet you, Kairi's 'mom and sis.' Anyway, I've got good news, very good news, so good you'd need to sit down to hear it."

"I'm already sitting," said Kairi, "so what is it?"

"Hang on," said Lara. She then waved her hands in a complex manner and released a flash of magic, "there, you can't be too careful, there are enemy ears everywhere. Anyway, I just came from Disney Castle; my grandma, Merlin and Yen Sid, we're almost ready to extend the protective magic of The Cornerstone of Light throughout the realms. We're also getting ready to heal the cracked Keyholes and restore the drowned worlds."

"You can do that?!" exclaimed Kairi as she gripped Lara by the shoulders, "how? When? Where? And why didn't you tell me before?!"

"I couldn't tell until we knew we really could do it!" said Lara as she pushed herself away from Kairi's grip, "we had to be sure it was possible, that we had a real chance of success."

"Then, all the damage and pain Columbina caused," said Asuna, "it'll be undone?"

"If we can keep Columbina, I mean, Katrina, from finding out what we're doing," said Lara, "even my anti-eavesdropping spell may not be enough to keep her finding out, so I can't go into details. But I can say this; we need time to get everything ready."

"How much time?" asked Kairi.

"At least a few hours," said Lara, "this is brand new magic we're trying and we have no idea how long it'll take to get it ready."

"How will you know when it is ready?" asked Asuna.

"We'll know," said Lara, "and we'll let you know we're ready. Until then, keep Katrina occupied for as long as possible. Now, I gotta get back to grandma and the others, they need me. Good luck and we'll see you on the other side." With that the young magic user teleported out.

"You've got the weirdest friends, Oneechan," said Yui.

"Don't say such things, Yui-chan," said Asuna, "friends come in all shapes and sizes, even if they are a little strange."

"Some friends are stranger than others," said Kairi, "but they're friends nonetheless." She then smiled, "I think I finally know what to say to everyone."

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"I sincerely hope these protective charms of yours work, Lulu," said Wakka as he, Tidus, Auron, Khimari, The Gullwings, Leon, Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Rinoa, Cloud and Tifa, made their way through the basement levels of the enemy stronghold.

"They'll work," said Lulu as she flicked a stray strand of hair from her right eye, "they'd better, our memories depend on them."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," said Tidus.

"I heard terrible things about this place," said Rikku nervously as she and Yuna sat on Tidus's shoulders, "the higher up you go, the more you forget until there's nothing left in your brain but emptiness!"

"Technically we wouldn't be empty," said Paine, "Sora didn't get emptied, just…"

"Altered by Organization XIII," said Leon, "but this isn't Organization XIII we're dealing with."

"Even if it were," said Yuna, "we'd need a whole year to fix our memories."

"A whole year asleep while our brains heal," said Wakka, "man, what a waste of time."

"I don't want to sleep for a year!" whined Rikku, "these charms better work, Lulu!"

"They'll work!" insisted Lulu, "now quiet! We're almost at the main levels!"

"Be ready for anything," said Quistis as she and the others readied their weapons, "Heartless, Nobodies, demons, anything and everything our enemies can and will throw at us!"

"We're ready," said Rinoa, "let's go save our friends and stop Katrina!"

With that they emerged from the subbasement levels and reached the bottom floor of the castle proper.

"This is where Riku wound up after escaping from Kingdom Hearts," said Tidus as he and the others looked around and found no waiting enemies.

"And fought to control his inner darkness, yes, we know," said Leon impatiently, "less talking, more running!" with that he and the others hurried up the stairs towards the ground floor.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is too easy?" asked Wakka as they reached the ground floor, seeing the main doors and the stairs up to the next level, "I mean, we should have seen an enemy or two by now."

At that Rikku smacked him on the back of the head, "you big dummy! You're gonna jinx us!"

"Now you've done it!" said Zell, "go knock on some wood already!"

"There's no wood here," said Wakka.

"Then go outside and find a tree!" said Irvine as he pointed at the main door.

"It doesn't work if it's a tree," said Rinoa.

"How do you know that?" asked Tifa.

"It just is," said Quistis. She then looked at Wakka, "just go outside, turn around three times and spit!"

"I thought you had to curse," said Zell.

"Do both!" said Rinoa.

"Wait, what am I supposed to do?" asked Wakka, causing everyone to groan and facepalm.

It was then that Cloud tensed and gripped his Buster Sword tighter, "he's here!"

"'He' who?" asked Wakka.

"'He' me," said Sephiroth as he walked down the stairs, at which nearly all our heroes flinched in fear, while Cloud glared wrathfully at his hated nemesis

"I can't decide who the bigger idiot is," said Sephiroth after walking down the stairs, "The boy with the absurd hair, or the rest of you for letting him live."

"Yeah, he is a bit of a dingbat," said Lulu, "but we love him all the same."

"What do you want, one-winged angel?" asked Quistis.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Sephiroth, "I'm here to stop you interlopers from interfering with Katrina's plans."

"And here I thought you couldn't sink lower," said Cloud, "what happened to you?"

"What do you mean, Strife?" asked Sephiroth.

"You used to be your own master with your own plans," said Cloud, "but then you answered Hades' beck and call to participate in his tournaments. After that you were your own man again and we wound up chasing each other across the realms for a while, but then you sold yourself to Xehanort to be his bully boy."

"What are you implying?!" demanded Sephiroth.

"That you're not longer the evil creature I hated and feared so much," said Cloud, "we had epic battles, you tried to destroy a world in order to become a god for crying out loud. But now…"

"Now you're just a hired sword," said Leon.

"I am no paltry mercenary!" exclaimed Sephiroth, "I could leave Xehanort and Katrina any time I wish!"

"Then what's stopping you?" asked Quistis.

"The chance to finish my nemesis once and for all," said Sephiroth, "to prove that darkness is and always will be more powerful than light."

"Don't listen to him, Cloud!" said Tifa, "he's just messing with you!"

"I know," said Cloud, "and I know that you can never truly defeat darkness. Light and darkness go hand and hand like two sides of a coin; you can't have one without the other." He hefted his Buster Sword, "I fight you, Sephiroth, not because of our rivalry, not to defeat my own darkness and destroy yours, but because you're in my way."

"You're in _our_ way, creep!" shouted Tidus as he hefted his sword.

"Our friends are somewhere upstairs!" said Wakka as he readied his Blitz Ball, "so let's fight!"

"Darn right!" said Yuna as she and the others readied their weapons.

"Nothing would please me more than to extinguish your lights once and for all," said Sephiroth as he gripped and drew Masamune, but then changed his mind before the massive sword was halfway out of its sheath.

"No," said Sephiroth as he smiled coldly while sheathing his blade, "I've got a better idea;

I think I'll let The Lich's pet play with you for a while."

"'The Lich?'" asked Tidus, "you mean that necromancer thingy possessing Sora?"

"What pet?" asked Rinoa, only for Leon to pull her out of the way as a massive, undead abomination dropped from the ceiling where she stood.

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Zell as he and the others got a good look at the creature; it was a two-headed unholy amalgamation of Gaston and Lady Tremaine, their bodies fused into one but still possessing both their heads. The creature stood nine feet tall, massively muscular with two enormous main arms, two smaller yet still muscular arms and several smaller, more delicate arms, with festering skin, muscle and exposed bones. The abomination let lose a blood-curdling roar that stank of graveyard soil.

"I'll let you all play," said Sephiroth as he sat on the stairs and began polishing Masamune, "assuming any of you survive, then it'll me by turn, if you survive that is."

"Sephiroth you bastard!" shouted Cloud the undead abomination charged at him and the others, barely dodging the creature's bone-cracking blows and torment beams from the smaller hands.

"Oh, we're in so much trouble," says Tidus as he dodged a destruction beam.

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion Subbasement…**

"Oh, we're in so much trouble," said Pence as he, Olette and Hayner, found themselves lost underground.

"This is all your fault, Hayner!" snapped Olette, "I told you we shouldn't have stolen away on Rinoa's ship, but you insisted we go anyway!"

"It's not my fault we're lost!" said Hayner, "I told you we should have showed ourselves once we were in hyperspace when it was too late for Leon and the others to turn around!"

"And I told you we had to stay hidden or they'd lock us in the ship while they went into the castle," said Olette.

"And now we're lost inside this maze of a basement with no idea where Leon and the others went," said Hayner.

"Well, look on the bright side," said Pence.

"What bright side?" asked Hayner.

"At least Seifer and his goons are just as lost as we are," said Pence.

At that Hayner and Olette laughed, "you're right about that!" said Hayner.

"Don't get your hopes up, losers!" snapped Seifer as he, Fuu and Rai appeared behind the three friends, startling them.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" exclaimed Pence.

"Wouldn't surprise me if you did, tubby," smirked Seifer.

"Diet time," said Fuu.

"Why you…?! I'm not fat!" exclaimed Pence as he tried to rush at Seifer, "I'm just husky, darn it!"

"Yeah, and I'm a circus clown, ya' know?" asked Rai.

"That doesn't make any sense, you dummy!" said Olette.

"Who're ya calling a dummy, ya dummy, ya know?!" shouted Rai.

"Someone needs to relearn their manners," said Seifer as he drew his sword, while Rai cracked his knuckles.

"Look, everyone just calm down," said Hayner, "we'll never get out of here if we're all fighting each other."

"Logical," said Fuu, at which Seifer, Rai, Olette and Pence calmed down.

"Yeah, well, just stay out of my way," said Seifer.

"Then we'll get stuck here fighting each other, ya know?" asked Rai.

"Whatever, let's just go," said Hayner, "I've got a feeling that all our friends are in big trouble."

* * *

 **…Aboard The Intrepid Heart…**

"We are in so much trouble," said Aiden on the Gummy Ship bridge as he and the others saw Castle Oblivion from orbit. Not only was their way to the dark world blocked by a massive formation of space Heartless, they also saw twelve gargantuan tendrils of darkness converging on the castle.

"She's doing it," said an astonished Malcolm, "she's really making The Gem of Immortality."

"Over my dead body!" says Kairi. "All ships! Begin the attack!"

"Uh…Kairi?" asked Asuna as she, Kazuto and Yui's webcam perched on his shoulder, stood nearby, "aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh, right! My speech!" said Kairi, "Sidney, signal all ships!"

"Roger!" said Sidney as she activated a fleet-wide communication channel, "they're all listening."

"You'll be fine," Asuna whispered.

"Thanks," said Kairi. She then spoke aloud for all to hear, "This is it, everyone, the fight that'll decide the destiny of everyone. Not just in The Realms of Light, not just in your native dimensions, but all dimensions. If Katrina achieves her goal of The Gem of Immortality, there'll be no stopping her darkness. She'll go on from world to world, universe to universe, endlessly spreading pain and suffering wherever she goes.

"We cannot let this happen. No matter the cost, we must stop Katrina from crushing the happiness and love of innocent people! I, like so many of you, am prepared to die in order to defeat Katrina. I'm ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of countless innocents across time and space, though I sincerely hope it will not come to that.

"Far too many have suffered already at Katrina's hands, not to mention the hands of Xehanort and the other villains allied with Katrina. If there was a chance we could walk away and live out our lives in peace, I'm sure each and every one of you, including myself, would take that chance and never look back.

"But we must fight, we must risk everything for the sake of tomorrow, for what hope do we have for a tomorrow if we allow evil and darkness to hold sway over our lives, hearts and freedoms?

"I do wish it were otherwise, that we didn't have to fight, that we could settle this peacefully. Unfortunately, Katrina has proven herself beyond redemption. Nothing we say or do will change her ways, and even if she said she would stop, I wouldn't trust her any more than I can throw her.

"The point is, we're committed to this, and one way or another, it ends here and now, hopefully with as little life lost as possible. So good luck everyone and as the Keyblade Wielders of old used to say, 'may your heart be your guiding key.'"

"Channel clear," said Sidney.

"Well?" asked Kairi.

"That was good," said Riku, "very good."

"Straight and to the point," said Aiden, "that's how you do it."

"There they go!" said Tess as a tactical display showed the first wave of SeeD and New Zumakali warships engaging the Space Heartless.

"Now?" asked Yui.

"Not yet, Yui-chan," said Kazuto, "we gotta wait for the warships to clear a path to the planet."

"How long will that take?" asked Yui.

"I don't know," said Kairi, "a while, and who knows how many friends and allies have to die along the way?"

"Incoming transmission from New Zumakalis flagship!" said Sidney.

"What are you doing sitting there, Kairi?" asked Rakel on the other end of the channel.

"Uh…we can't go ahead until you guys clear a path through the Space Heartless, duh!" said Malcolm.

"You want us to clear a path?" asked Reddik, "okay, we'll clear a path! Just watch!"

"What are they doing?" asked Malcolm as the tactical display showed several New Zumakali ships break away from the fighting, converging on the flagship.

"They're…oh my gosh!" exclaimed Asuna, "are you seeing what I'm seeing, Kirito-kun?!"

"I'd better, or I need glasses," said Kazuto, "they're combining!"

"Into what, papa?" asked Yui.

"Into a super robo, that's what!" exclaimed Kazuto as the warships shifted and merged into a massive robot armed with lasers, missiles and one really big sword. Before our heroes' eyes, the New Zumakali robot began decimating the Space Heartless.

"BEHOLD!" exclaimed Reddik over the channel, "The MARK III KURT ZISA! AND IT'S MINE! ALL MINE!" he then laughed like a maniac as the robot destroyed more and more Space Heartless.

"I'm sorry," apologized Rakel over Reddik's maniacal laughter, "he always gets like this when he has a giant robot to play with."

"YES! COWER! COWER BEFORE MY MIGHTY ROBOTIC FISTS OF FURTY!"

"Seriously?" asked an annoyed Tess.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Riku.

"Well, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth," said Kairi as the combined efforts of the robot and warships opened a path through the enemy formations, "let's go! All ships! PUNCH IT!"

With that The Intrepid Heart and other transport ships shot through the opening and entered the planet's atmosphere.

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"They've broken through the orbital defenses," said Young Xehanort as he and the other villains stood atop the tower, watching Katrina work her foul magic with The Sampo.

"Let them come!" said Insano, "I've quite a few nasty suprises instore for them!"

* * *

 **…The Intrepid Heart…**

"There it is," said Aqua as she joined our heroes on the bridge, "Castle Oblivion at last! Just hold on, Ven, I'm coming!"

"Sidney, zoom in on the tallest tower," said Riku. The main screen focused on said tower, revealing Katrina, the other villains and The Sampo.

"So that's a Sampo," said Aiden.

"And Katrina's using it to make her damn immortal gem," said Malcolm, "Finn, are you guys seeing this?"

"Clear as crystal cheese," said Finn from one of the other gummy ships, "now all we gotta do is smash that thing and…whoa!"

"What the…?!" exclaimed another gummy ship's crew, before exploding.

"Now what?!" asked Kairi as a flying robot armed with lasers and buzzsaw hands flew past The Intrepid Heart. The tactical display showed swarms of the metal menaces swarming from the castle.

"Seriously?! Killbots?!" exclaimed Aiden.

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"Killbots? Seriously?" asked Regina.

"What can I say?" asked Insnao as the tablet showed dozens of Killbots landing on a Gummy Ship, cutting through with lasers and sawblades to destroy it, before surviving the explosion and moving on to another, "I like Killbots."

Just then a piece of flaming wreckage fell onto the tower less than a meter from Regina.

"Watch where you're blowing those ships up!" exclaimed the former evil queen.

"Well, excuse me for failing to defy the laws of physics and chaos theory," said Insano, "I'm not god, yet." He then giggled like the madman he was.

"And this is who I picked to work with," sighed Young Xehanort as he cast a defensive shield around the tower.

* * *

 **…The Intrepid Heart…**

"Those things will murder us before we even get close to the castle!" shouted Tess as she and the others held on for dear life as Sidney drove the ship wildly through the swarms of Killbots, firing lasers and missiles at the metal fiends, yet more and more kept coming from Castle Oblivion.

"Not if we can help it!" said Kazuto, "you ready, Asuna!?"

"Always ready, Kirito-kun," said Asuna. "Sidney, please look after our daughter."

"But I want to go with you and papa, mama!" said Yui.

"I'm sorry, Yui-chan," said Kazuto, "but this is one fight you're gonna have to sit out."

"I'd love nothing more than to babysit a fellow AI," said Sidney, her face creased with worry and concentration, "but I'm a little busy keeping you mortals alive!" she then twisted The Intrepid Heart through a corkscrew maneuver to shake off several Killbots, shaking up our heroes as well.

"Kairi!" shouted Lillian as she teleported onto the bridge, "Elyon and Elsa are outside fighting those horrible robots!"

"They're not alone!" said Aiden as the tactical display showed the ALO players in their faerie avatars, flying through the battle and destroying Killbots with magic and steel. They weren't alone; the handful of Meta Humans with flying abilities were outside fighting, while more were hanging outside ship airlocks and shooting with lasers, machineguns and missile launchers

"We'd better get going too," said Asuna, "uh...Lillian, would you mind…?" she then held out Yui's camera.

"Uh…sure, I guess," said Lillian as she took the camera.

"Thanks," said Asuna, "we'll see you all later! Let's go, Kirto-kun!" With that she and Kazuto hurried to the airlock. Within seconds they were out flying in their online avatars, slicing through Killbots like hot knives through butter.

Just then Kairi's cell phone rang, "someone's calling me now?" asked Kairi as she answered it, "hello?"

"Kairi, it's Will! We're right outside!"

Kairi and the others looked out the window and saw Will and the other Guardians flying around The Intrepid Heart, deflecting Killbots away from the ship.

"We'll cover you till you get to the castle!" said Will, "good luck!"

"You too, and thanks!" said Kairi. She hung up and pocketed her phone, "we're covered! Go, Sidney! Go!"

"I'm going!" said Sidney as she flew The Intrepid Heart towards the castle. With The Guardians shielding the ship from the enemy robots, it wasn't long before The Intrepid Heart landed on a low level balcony.

"Anyone else made it?" asked Kairi as she, Riku, Aiden, Malcolm, Tess and Aqua exited the ship.

"Just them so far," said Will as another Gummy Ship landed, the one carrying Finn and the others from Ooo, "everyone else is still up above."

"We'd better get back up there too, Will," said Taranee, "it looks like we're needed up there."

Everyone then heard several transport ships explode, "Sounds like it too," said Irma.

"Good luck, Kairi!" said Cornelia.

"And if that evil thing possessing Sora gives you any grief," said Hay Lin, "give us a call, we'll come and kick it in the teeth!"

"That'll be Sora's teeth you're kicking," teased Irma as all five Guardians flew off.

"We'd better go too," said Sidney, "I can still fight and fly."

"And I can use my magic aboard the ship," said Lillian, "and still take care of Yui."

"Good luck, Oneechan," said Yui.

"You too!" said Kairi as the ship took off and rejoined the fight above.

"Well, this is it, guys," said Aiden as he pressed his wrists, "no turning back now."

"As if we could go back," said Marceline.

"Well you can fly away if you want," said Flame Princess.

"So can you," said Marceline, "So can Simon but he's not going anywhere."

"Darn right!" said Ice King, "uh…where are we going again? Hey, this isn't my Ice Castle, this isn't even Ooo for that matter, where are we?"

"We're going to confront an ancient nightmare of the universe," said Princess Bubblegum as she readied her weapons, as did the rest of our heroes and allies, "a mad witch with a thirst for immortality."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," said Kairi with confident determination, "we're coming for you, Katrina!" with that they all charged into the castle, only to meet hundreds of Heartless and Nobodies.

"Well," said Kairi as she and the others fought the creatures, "I never said it'd be easy!"

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"They won't make it in time," said Prismo as he, Sabrina, Salem, Alegra, Death and The Cosmic Owl saw several potential futures on smaller videos, while Kairi and the others fought their way to the stairs on the main screen.

"I don't believe this," said Alegra, "most outcomes show them not even getting close to Katrina before she finishes The Gem of Immortality."

"There's no way to stop her," said a furious Sabrina, "but there has to be! She can't win, not after everything we've went through! There's got to be a way to stop her." She looked at Death and The Cosmic Owl, "isn't there anything you guys can do?"

"Sorry, I can't help like this," said Death, "I'd like to, though. Believe me, I'd like nothing more than to put Katrina in her place in Hell, but I simply can't just reach out and kill someone as easily as snapping fingers."

"And I can only interact with mortals through their dreams," said The Cosmic Owl, "I doubt any dream suggestion I give her will stop Katrina, even if she were to fall asleep any time soon."

"But…it can't end like this!" said Sabrina, "there has to be a way, there's just has to be one…" she then groaned in frustration and sat down, "I just can't think of one! Oh, I wish I knew what to do."

"Wait! That's it!" exclaimed Salem.

"What's it?" asked Sabrina. She then smiled excitedly, "oh, that's right! I get a wish!"

"Does she?" asked Alegra, "does she get a wish?"

"You both did," said Prismo, "remember when you first came to me to ask you to keep Riku and the others here? That was your wish, but Sabrina still has hers!" He then looked at Sabrina, "but are you sure this is how you want to use it? Remember…"

"Yes, I know, the ironic twist," said Sabrina, "believe me, I've lived with plenty of irony since I became a witch. This is what I want; I wish I knew how to stop Young Xehanort, The Lich and Katrina, especially how to save her from herself, to show her that she can be good, that she is loved."

"Wait, you want to save her?" asked Salem, "are you nuts? She's evil! Evil I say! EVIL!"

"I know," said Sabrina, "I know she's done horrible, unforgivable things, but she's still my twin sister, no matter how evil she is."

"Well said," remarked Prismo, "and technically you've made more than one wish, but…okay"

At that Sabrina clutched her head and fell over, crying out in agony as a flood of information invaded her mind.

"What have you done!?" exclaimed Salem at Prismo, "undo the wish! Undo! UNDO!"

"No, it's alright," said Sabrina as she sat up, "I'm alright, it just…" her eyes went wide as a smile of realization dawned on her face, "that's it! I know what to do!" she stood up, "I know how to stop Katrina even if she does get The Gem of Immortality! Alegra! Salem! Let's go!"

"No," said Alegra, "I'm not going."

"You're not?" asked Salem as he leapt into Sabrina's arms.

"Not this time," said Alegra as she gave a tired smile.

"What are you talking about?" asked Sabrina, "of course you're coming! We've come so far and it's almost over! We've got to finish it together!"

"I'd love to come with you but I can't," said Alegra, "I'd never survive the trip. Even with you powering the protective bubble, I'd lose focus and fall out. I'd be lost in The Time Vortex, forever falling through past, present and future."

"So that's why you came back to The Time Room," said The Cosmic Owl, "you've come here to retire."

"I've done so much and lost so much," said Alegra, "what better place to retire than among good friends? Especially in a place where nothing changes and no one gets hurt."

"You might want to consider Lego Land," said Death, "but who am I to change your mind?"

"You can't be serious," said Sabrina, "I…"

"You don't need me anymore, Sabrina," said Alegra as she stood up and held Sabrina's hand, "you've surpassed every test and expiation I've given you, all save one; saving the day on your own."

"I don't know if I can save the day on my own," said Sabrina.

"Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?" asked Salem.

"You know what I'm talking about, Salem!" said Sabrina as tears formed in her eyes. She looked at Alegra, "I…I'll miss you."

"Oh don't be so dramatic," said Alegra, "it's not like I'm gonna die in the next five minutes. You can always come back and visit, I may not be able to think clearly anymore by then but deep down I'll still know you." She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, "now get going and save the day before we all start crying!"

"Okay," said Sabrina, "come on, Salem, we've got work to do."

"Can we stop for lunch on the way?" asked Salem as he and Sabrina zapped themselves out of the room.

"Wait! Come back!" shouted Prismo, "I almost forgot!"

"Forgot what?" asked Sabrina as she zapped herself and Salem back into the room.

"This," said Prismo as a glowing pink object materialized in Sabrina's hand, "give this to Finn and Jake when you see them, they'll know what to do, trust me."

"I will, and thanks," said Sabrina. She then looked at Alegra, "thank you, for everything!" with that she and Salem zapped themselves out.

"Good luck!" Prismo called after them.

"Have fun storming the castle!" said Death.

"You think they'll make it?" asked The Cosmic Owl.

"It'll take a miracle," said Death.

 **The End Of Chapter 10.**

 _Next chapter the battle continues its headlong race towards the end, but the end is far from here. 'Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	12. Chapter 11: Penultimate Betrayal

_Last time found our heroes, at long last, reaching Castle Oblivion in effort to stop Katrina from forging The Sampo. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 11: Penultimate Betrayal**

 **…In Orbit…**

"YES! COWER! FLEE IN TERROR BEFORE THE MIGHT OF MY MIGHTY SUPER ROBOT! AHAHAHAHAHAH!"

"I told you giving him another Kurt Zisa was a bad idea," said Nikolai as he, Katarina and Rakel, stood at the back of the robot bridge along with the rest of the bridge crew, while Reddik enjoyed himself insanely at the controls.

"I told you but no," said an annoyed Nikolai, "no one listens to me."

"Well I'm sorry if I'm not qualified to pilot the giant, Heartless-destroying robo thingy," said Katarina.

"The number of things you're not qualified for astounds even me," said Nikolai.

"Oh, shut up and help me calm him down," said Rakel. She went to Reddik and pulled him away from the controls, only for him to shrug her off and went back to piloting the robot.

"FOOLS!" shouted Reddik, "NOTHING SHALL STAND BETWEEN MY BELOVED KURT ZISA AND VICTORY! NOTHING! AHAHAHAHAH!"

"Doesn't he realize there aren't any more Space Heartless to blast?" asked Katarina, "we won the space battle, at least I think we did." She then grabbed Reddik and, with her incredible strength, lifted him away from the controls in a bone-crushing bear hug.

"AGH! RELEASE ME, INFIDEL! HOW DARE YOU TAKE ME AWAY FROM MY VICTORY!"

Nikolai then hit Reddik with a stunning spell, "there, he's out, can we go home now? I have far too many things to do back on New Zumakalis."

"Oh, you just want to binge watch reality shows," said Katarina as she placed the unconscious Reddik on the floor.

"I do not!" snapped Nikolai, "I hate reality shows!"

"Then how come I've got pictures of you watching them?" teased Katarina as she waved a handful of photos in front of Nikolai. She then dashed away as Nikolai tried to grab them.

"Gimme those!" shouted Nikolai as he chased Katarina off the bridge.

"Huh…wha…what happened?" asked Reddik as he came to.

"You had another of your megalomania episodes," said Rakel as she helped Reddik up, "but it's over. We won our part of the battle."

"How many did we lose?" asked Reddik.

"Too many," said Rakel, "far too many brave souls gave their lives to end Katrina's madness. I only hope things are better on the ground."

* * *

 **…Down Below…Outside Castle Oblivion…**

"I hope things went better up in space," said Will as she looked around at the devastation. Dozens of crashed ships littered the ground near the castle, while makeshift hospitals for the wounded were set up with the transports that survived.

"Good thing all our magic works," said Asuna as she and the other's capable of healing magic did their best with the wounded.

"And thank goodness for restorative items," said Leafa, "I'd be so asleep by now."

"You should still take a rest," said Yui atop Lillian's shoulder, "before you push yourself too far."

"I don't need a break," said Lillian, "I've got so much energy, I don't even…"

"Even what?" asked Asuna as Lillian froze in thought, a distant look on her face.

"Is she alright?" asked Leafa.

"How should I know?" asked Elyon, "her powers are on a whole other level than mine and hers matured way too early."

"Maybe she's having some sort of episode or attack," said Elsa, "maybe…"

"I'm fine," said Lillian in a serious tone as she looked at her fellow magic users, "but I have to go…I'm needed."

"You're needed right here with the wounded!" said Irma, "what could possibly be more important than helping those bleeding to death? I'm amazed I haven't tossed my cookies like Hay Lin and Cornelia."

"Just wait," moaned a still nauseous Cornelia, "your time will come."

"I still have to go," said Lillian, "the fate of the whole Multi-verse depends on it," she handed Yui's camera back to Asuna, "don't worry about me, this is what I've been waiting for. Everything's going to be alright." With that she teleported out.

"What was that all about?" asked Kirito as he walked over.

"I don't know," said Asuna as she put Yui's camera on her shoulder, "but I feel like everything will be alright."

"I just hope it's the same for everyone in there," said Elyon as she looked at Castle Oblivion.

" _Oneesan_ ," said Yui, "please, come back safe."

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…Ground Floor…**

"I must say, you've lasted longer against the abomination than I thought," said Sephiroth.

The undead horror created from the fused corpses of Gaston & Lady Tremaine had wreaked serious havoc on the infiltration team. Battered, bruised & bleeding from numerous wounds, only Tidus, Leon, Cloud & Auron were still able to stand up and fight, with Auron, being semi undead himself, was the least hurt.

"Enough games, Sephiroth!" shouted a breathless Cloud as he, Auron, Leon & Tidus, stood in a circle around the undead horror to keep it from attacking them all at once, "fight me already!"

"And deprive The Lich's pet a chance to truly cut its teeth?" asked a mocking Sephiroth, "I don't think so!"

"Don't listen to his blustering!" said Yuna as she struggled to provide a constant flow of healing items and magic to her wounded comrades, fighting against the unholy corruption that threatened to turn them into undead horrors themselves.

"Easy for you to say!" said Tidus as he looks at Yuna, "you're not the one fighting this but-ugly monster!"

This was the opening the abomination sought. It fired a pair of torment beams at Leon and Cloud while firing a destruction beam at Auron. The former two were hit and collapsed and n agony, while Auron barely avoided disintegration. The creature then lunged at and grabbed Tidus, lifting him up and began pulling on his arms and legs.

"Oh, now this is getting good," said Sepiroth over Tidus's screams of pain, "anyone want to wager how long he'll last before he's torn to pieces?"

Auron tried to rush at the creature and save Tidus, only to be backhanded away by the abomination's massive arms.

"Someone help him!" shouted Yuna.

At that the insidious one-winged angel laughed cruelly, "no one can help him, so say your farewells while you can."

But then in rushed Hayner, Pence and Olette. Pence threw his disk shields at the abomination, distracting it while Hayner dashed up and cut off two of the creature's arms. Olette then blasted the other two holding Tidus, allowing him to get away and back to Yuna and the others.

"Well, isn't this a dramatic intrusion," said Sepiroth, "but it'll do you no good."

"We'll just see about that!" said Pence as he recovered his shields.

"Come on, everyone!" shouted Hayner, "We can beat this thing!"

"Easier said than done," said Auron, "look."

To the shock and disgust of Hayner, Pence and Olette, the damaged limbs of the undead creature regenerated.

"Every time we hurt that zombie thing, it just recovers!" said Rikku.

"We still have to fight!" said Olette, "wait, it's a zombie?"

"Uh DUH!" exclaimed Leon and the others with an accompanying donkey braying.

"Then why didn't you use one of these!?" exclaimed Olette as she pulled out a brightly colored feather and threw it at the abomination. The feather hit the undead flesh with a white flash. The creature let out a pained bellow and collapsed, thrashing in agony for several seconds before dissolving into slime.

"What…what did you do?!" exclaimed Sephiroth.

"I hit it with the one thing that's sure to take out a zombie or any other undead monster," said Olette smugly, "A Phoenix Down."

"Of course! Phoenix Down!" exclaimed Quistis as she smacked herself on the forehead, "why didn't we think of that before?!"

"Because we're idiots, that's why," said Lulu as she and the others got back up, their wounds healing.

"Well then," said Sephiroth, "that'll teach me to underestimate my opponents. Now," he stood up and hefted Masamune, "are we going to do this or not?"

"Oh, we'll do this, alright," said Cloud as he hefted his Buster Sword, "just you and me. Squall, you and the others get going."

"Like hell we're gonna let you fight this maniac alone!" said Leon as he readied his Gun Blade.

"No, it's his fight," said Tifa, "I know now that Cloud will never be satisfied until he and Sephiroth finish things once and for all."

"She's right, we can't interfere," said Auron.

"Well, as if we could just go past that creep," said Rikku, "he's not gonna let us go upstairs, is he?"

"Truer words were never spoken, little pixy," said Sephiroth as he walked towards our heroes.

"Your opponent is me, Sephiroth!" shouted Cloud as he stood between the insidious swordsman and his friends, "this is it; no more continuations, no more future encounters! This is our final battle!" With that he rushed at Sephiroth, whom rushed at him in turn, the two of them meeting with a deafening clash of blades.

"Let's go already, losers!" shouted Seifer as he Fuu and Rai stood on the steps.

"How'd you get there ahead of us?" asked Hayner as he, Leon and the others hurried up the stairs, "and where were you when we attacked the zombie thing?"

"We were cheering you on, ya know?" asked Rai.

"Moral support," said Fuu.

"Whatever," said Leon as our heroes ran upstairs, the sound of clashing blades still audible as they climbed the castle levels, "I just hope we're not too late."

* * *

 **…Upstairs…**

"We're running out of time!" shouted Kairi as she, her fellow Keyblade Wielders and the heroes from Ooo, fought wave after wave of Heartless, Nobodies and demons.

"At this rate Katrina will have time to forge a dozen Gems of Immortality!" said Finn after stabbing a demon.

"Aqua, you grew up in this place, right?" asked Aiden between blasting Heartless with alchemic energy, "isn't there like a shortcut or something?"

"I didn't grow up here, I only trained here!" said Aqua after vanquishing a group of Nobodies, "Terra, Ven and I had our own dorm outside the castle! And this isn't the same castle! It changed after I hid Ven's body! And who knows what changes Organization XIII made after I left and…wait a second…" she then stopped fighting and began touching the wall.

"Are you lumping serious?!" exclaimed Lumpy Space Princess. She then punched a Nobody in its malformed face, "don't even lumping think about it, buster!" she then punched another Nobody.

"This isn't the time to look for secret doors!" said Princess Bubblegum. She then shot a blast from her Ball Blam Burglerber, destroying several Heartless.

"No, let her look!" said Riku, "I think she's on to something."

"This could be it," said Aqua as she felt on the wall, "it used to be next to Master Eraquas's chambers, but now…yes!" she pressed a hidden latch and a door appeared, swinging open invitingly for our heroes.

There was a mad dash as Kairi and the others piled into the room and slammed the door shut against the offending demons, Nobodies and Heartless.

"Good job, Aqua," panted Kairi as she and the others fought to regain their breath, "but where are we?"

"The old Keyblade Master's executive washroom," said Aqua as our heroes looked around, finding themselves in an elaborately crafted bathroom, "Terra and I used to come here to prank Master Eraquas during our early training days."

"Do I even want to know what kind of pranks you pulled?" asked Flame Princess.

"Who cares what pranks she pulled?" asked Ice King, "let's prank the current owners! I call dropping dry ice down the toilets!"

"Can you make dry ice?" asked Aiden.

"Uh…no," said Ice King, "I was hoping one of you guys had some."

"I doubt the current owners know of this place, Simon," said Marceline, "and just why are we in here anyway? I mean, I'm glad for a chance for a break but…"

"But that," said Aqua as she pointed up, revealing a large air vent, "we can use that to get upstairs in a hurry."

"You expect us to crawl up several stories of air vents?" asked Cinnamon Bun, "we'll never make it in time that way!"

"And not all of us will fit," said Flame Princess, "no offense, CB."

"It's roomier in the vents than you think," said Aqua as she had Aiden and Malcolm boost her to the ceiling, "trust me." She then took off the vent grate and pulled herself in.

"Well…when in doubt, follow the leader," said Jake. He then stretched himself up into the vent, carrying Finn, Princess Bubblegum and Peppermint Butler with him.

"I thought Kairi was the leader this time," said Tess as she and the others went up into the vent. It was much larger in the air duct than they expected, large enough for the tallest among them to stand up.

"Now what?" asked Riku.

"Now we go up," said Aqua as she led our heroes to a vertical shaft in the duct. She jumped into the shaft and was lifted up by the intense airflow.

"Oh, now I get it," said Tess. One by one our heroes followed Aqua up the airflow.

Eventually they reached as high as the shaft would go and they exited into a storage room.

"We should be in the tallest tower," said Aqua.

"Katrina's close," said Kairi in a tense voice, "I can sense an incredible amount of darkness focusing nearby."

"She's forging The Gem of Immortality!" said Finn, "Come on!" with that he hurried to the storage room door and opened it, only to slam it shut as he saw the corridor packed to the ceiling with Pureblood Heartless, "uh…there's a lot of Heartless outside."

"How much is a lot?" asked Kairi.

"Way too many," said Aiden after opening the door a crack to peek outside.

"They must be castoffs of all that darkness," said Riku, "there's no way we'll be able to fight through all that."

"Ah, I can zap them all without breaking a sweat," said Ice King.

"And freeze the way to Katrina solid? I don't think so," said Marceline.

"Then I'll melt them," said Flame Princess.

"And make the corridor too hot to pass through? I don't think so," said Marceline.

"Well aren't you a little ray of sunshine, Marcy," said an annoyed Flame Princess.

"What about radiation?" asked Princess Bubblegum in a thoughtful tone as she pulled out a small metal box with a red button.

"Princess Bubblegum!" exclaimed Peppermint Butler, "you're not thinking about using _that_ , are you?!"

"Desperate times, Pepbut," said Princess Bubblegum as she placed the box on the floor and pressed the button. There was a small burst of smoke and where the box stood now lay a large, metal catapult-like device and a football-sized bomb.

"What is this freaky stuff, PB?" asked Finn.

"A relic of The Mushroom War," said Princess Bubblegum as she loaded the bomb onto the catapult, "they didn't use just bombers and missiles to deliver their deadly ordinance."

"You want to fire a nuclear device out into that mass of Heartless?" asked Kairi, "with us right next to it?!"

"We'll either get knocked flat by the blast," said Aiden, "cooked by the heat flash or die of radiation sickness."

"Great," said Marceline sarcastically, "I always wanted to test my powers against a nuclear blast."

"The radiation shouldn't be too much for us to handle," said Princess Bubblegum, "it should die out after a few seconds. All we need to do is take cover against the initial explosion."

"I can put up a shield that'll protect us from the blast and radiation," said Malcolm, "just say the word."

"The word is now," said Princess Bubblegum as she hefted the Fatman onto her shoulder and aimed it at the door.

"You'd better be right about it being alright, Bonnie!" said Flame Princess as she and the others stood around Malcolm at the far end of the room, while Finn stood at the door, "because if I end up glowing green instead of my usual red, orange and yellow, I'm gonna be very upset."

"You'll be fine," said Princess Bubblegum, "have I ever lied to you?"

"Constantly, but that's not important right now," said Flame Princess, "just do it already!"

"Okay then, now, Finn! Now!" shouted Princess Bubblegum. Finn opened the door and Princess Bubblegum fired the Mini Nuke into the throbbing mass of Heartless. Finn slammed the door shut and he and Princess Bubblegum ran towards Malcolm. He cast his shield spell, just as the Mini Nuke detonated with a deafening blast that knocked the door off its hinges.

"Everyone alright?" asked Malcolm in a slightly winded tone once he could hear again.

"Looks that way," said Marceline, "but Bonnabel? Next time you want to use a pre-war weapon of mass destruction, don't!"

"Don't worry, Marcy," said Princess Bubblegum as she collapsed the Fatman into the box again, "that was the only round I could find for that weapon. The last act of The Mushroom War, used to save an entire Meta-Verse from a fate worse than death."

"It's all clear!" said Riku as he looked out into the corridor.

"But not for long!" said Tess as first one, then more and more Pureblood Heartless spawned into the hallway.

"Get going, Riku!" said Finn, "we'll hold these jerks off!"

"Go stop crazy Katrina!" said Jake as he stretched his fists out and smashed several Heartless, while Finn and the others from Ooo fought the dark creatures.

"We will, and thanks!" said Riku. He looked at Kairi, Aiden, Tess, Malcolm and Aqua, "let's go!" with that they ran through the hallway, fighting and destroying a few Heartless along the way as they reached a staircase.

They ran up the stairs and burst out into the open rooftop, just as the twelve streams of Darkness rapidly flowed through Sombra's horn into The Sampo.

"I thought I felt a shudder below," said Young Xehanort as he, Regina and The Lord of Illusions looked and saw our heroes.

"Get out of our way!" shouted Kairi.

"By all means," said Regina as she stood aside.

"What…what are you doing?!" exclaimed Young Xehanort.

"What I should have done long ago," said the former evil queen, "look after myself!" with that she vanished in a burst of purple smoke.

"Well, that was unexpected and anti-climactic," said Aiden.

"You think you're dumbfounded?" asked The Lord of Illusions, "I've known her longer than you brats and had no idea she was gonna run away."

But then there came a flash of dark purple light from The Sampo as it shot a beam of pure evil into the Sunstone, turning it blood red.

"It doesn't matter who's here and who's run away!" said Katrina triumphantly as she picked up the evilly glowing gem, "you're too late! At long last! The Gem of Immortality is mine!"

"No!" shouted Kairi as she and the others tried to rush at Katrina, only to be struck by an energy-sapping curse, collapsing to the floor in exhaustion.

"Oh, I hate when this happens," groaned Riku.

"I fell on my keys," moaned Aiden.

"Your keys fell on me!" moaned Tess.

"At least we're not suffering alone," said Malcolm. He pointed at Katrina, whom was also on the floor, her energy drained by the dark spell.

"What the…?" asked a confused Kairi.

"You're right to be confused," said Young Xehanort as he walked towards Katrina.

"You!" exclaimed Katrina as she tried to get up, "how dare you betray me!"

"You expected something else?" asked Young Xehanort as he picked up The Gem of Immortality, "nice going with the magicks, Leslie."

"Leslie?" asked Kairi.

"LESLIE!" shouted Katrina.

"I'm so sorry, Katrina," said The Lord of Illusions, "wait, no I'm not."

"Why?" asked Tess, "why betray Katrina now?"

"Isn't it obvious, Tess?" asked The Lord of Illusions, "Xehanort here offered me a better deal. My true self, the original Lord of Illusions, is dying, as is Xehanort's current body."

"We have a mutual need for The Gem of Immortality," said Young Xehanort, "I become the supreme dark overlord of all creation, whereas Leslie gets to cheat death forever; mutually beneficial for both of us."

"I doubt Prismo saw this coming," muttered Aiden.

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"I certainly didn't," said a flabbergasted Prismo.

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"You'll pay for this, Leslie!" shouted Katrina, "as soon as I can stand up…"

"Oh shut up already!" snapped The Lord of Illusions, "you've been giving me the runaround ever since the fiasco at Yubaba's bathhouse. Well, no more."

"You thought you could rule the darkness, Katrina," said Young Xehanort, "to claim all in The Multi-Verse, but there is only one power that matters; the power of Kingdom Hearts, and with The Gem of Immortality, I shall claim that power. Now," he then turned the gem around and looked at it from different angles, "how does this work?"

"You need to invoke its power through an activation spell," said The Lord of Illusions, "while merging a piece of your heart into it."

"Thank you so much, Leslie," said Young Xehanort. He then blasted the trickster with a dark curse of his own that knocked him off his feet.

"Well, everyone's getting betrayed today," said a surprised Aiden.

"There can be only one master of Kingdom Hearts," said Young Xehanort, "and I have no intention of sharing my immortality with anyone."

"I…I'm not that surprised," said The Lord of Illusions as he tried to get up but collapsed to his knees as the color faded from his clothes, "but I am surprised by what you used. What did you do to me?"

"I used a special curse that followed the connection you had to your original self," said Young Xehanort, "and out to your remaining doppelgangers. In a matter of minutes, you'll all die."

"Well, if you're gonna kill me," said The Lord of Illusions as his skin turned gray, "you should aim for all of me at once. Bravo, Xehanort, you've done what so many have failed to do," he then looked at Tess, "I hope you'll think of me in what little time you have left."

"Bastard!" said Tess, "I hope you rot in hell."

"I'm sure I will," said The Lord of Illusions as his body began to crumble to dust, "for many things. But think of this while you still live; while your pain was my pleasure, Tess Thatcher, had we actually married, it would have been glorious. In the short time we would have had before I handed you over to The Puppeteer, I would have shown you wonders." With that he completely collapsed into dust, his now gray clothes blowing away with the dust in the wind.

"Bastard," said Tess again.

"Well, so much for that," said Young Xehanort as he summoned a fragment of his twisted black heart, "and now for my ascension to immortality."

"Don't you dare!" spat Katrina as she struggled to her feet, "that's my gem! Give it to me!"

"No," said Young Xehanort as he held up The Gem of Immortality, merged his heart fragment into it and chanted a spell. The gem began crackling with dark energy.

"It's happening!" said Young Xehanort as the dark energy flowed into his body, "I can feel it! I am becoming immortal!"

"I don't think so!" said Cid.

"Oh, there you are, Cid," said Aiden, "We didn't see you."

"Not surprising," said Cid, "but don't count yerselves out yet, that gem, it ain't making him immortal."

"What are you talking about, old man?!" asked Young Xehanort, before crying out in agony and collapsing to the ground.

"You…you did something to The Sampo!" said Katrina.

"And you shouldn't have left me unsupervised," said Cid.

"Uh, people?" asked Malcolm, "we've got a problem!"

Young Xehanort's body rose up as more dark energy flowed into him. The corrupted gem flashed evilly as it hovered next to Young Xehanort, before fusing with his body. There was a flash of pure blackness and Young Xehanort was gone.

In his place was a living nightmare of a vaguely humanoid with pulsating flesh, mutating flesh.

"That…that could have been me," said a horrified Katrina. She glared at Cid, "you tried to sabotage me, you bastard!" She then zapped in Aerith, Selphie and Yuffie, "I warned you of the price of treachery! Now suffer as your friends suffer!" she zapped in the three boxes with the girl's hearts, levitated out the hearts and began crushing them with her magic.

"No! Stop it!" shouted Tess as Yuffie, Selphie and Aerith wailed in dying agony.

"This is on all of you!" exclaimed Katrina, "on everyone who dared defy me!"

Kairi then got up, a look of unadulterated rage on her face, "that's enough! God Damn It! That's ENOUGH!" she ran at and slammed her fist into Katrina's face, knocking the vile witch on her back. All three hearts fell to the floor with Katrina's lost concentration.

Aiden, Riku and Tess dove and caught the three hearts, then ran to the gasping in relief Aerith, Selphie and Yuffie.

"Cid, Malcolm, get them out of here," said ordered Kairi, "we'll deal with Katrina."

"Right," said Malcolm as he collected the hearts from Riku, Aiden and Tess, then helped Cid help the three girls up, "let's go."

"Yeah, I'm really sick of this place," said Cid as he, Malcolm and the girls hurried to the stairs, "uh, just so I'll know, which heart goes to which girl?"

"Who cares? Let's just go!" said Yuffie as they went down the stairs.

"Now that we're free of innocent bystanders," said Kairi, "let's finish this, Katrina."

"No," said Xehanort's reverberating voice, "you will deal with me!" by now the nightmarish mutations inflicting the dark master had stabilized. He now stood three meters tall and overly muscular, clawed limbs and tentacles that ended in darkly pulsating crystals. Fused into his chest was The Gem of Immortality, while the head of the horror showed the face of Young Xehanort twisted in agony as its mouth expanded far too wide, revealing behind rows of teeth a new face, a face of pure evil.

"Oh, Xehanort, you monster," said a horrified Aqua.

"No, I am no longer merely Xehanort," said the living nightmare, "Nor am I Ansem Seeker of Darkness, nor Xemnes or Young Xehanort. I am the ultimate form of Xehanort; Immortal Xehanort!"

"Well, this is certainly a sticky situation," said Zotarius as he and Insano stood on the sidelines, "I believe Regina had the right idea. Laters!" with that he zapped himself out of the area.

"Likewise," said Insano as he activated an emergency teleport device and vanished.

"I don't need them," said Immortal Xehanort, "I need no one," he glared at Katrina, "especially you!" with that he aimed and fired beams of dark magic at her from his crystal-typed tentacles. Katrina cast a shield spell that barely saved her life from the beams, knocking her clear off the tower and hurling to the ground below. She surely would have been splattered on the ground, had she not zapped herself to safety.

"Nothing can stand before my power!" said Immortal Xehanort, "NOTHING!"

"We'll still try!" shouted Kairi as she and the others rushed at Immortal Xehanort, only to dodge the dark beams from the tentacles.

"It's useless to resist me!" shouted Immortal Xehanort as he fired more dark beams at our dodging heroes, "better to submit and hope for life as my slaves!"

"Never!" shouted Riku as he threw his Keyblade at one of the tentacles, slicing it off. Tess, Kairi and Aqua also threw their Keyblades, cutting off three more, while Aiden transmuted the other tentacles into harmless stone.

"You think this is the best I can offer?" asked Immortal Xehanort as he summoned two red energy swords, "THINK AGAIN!" with that he rushed at and dueled Kairi and the other Keyblade Wielders.

* * *

"Time to start packing," said Insano as he hurried through his lab, "oh, but what to take and what to leave behind? I've got all my data backed up on flash drives, but what experiments to save?" He then saw a vial full of Annie's blood, "oh, I've got to take this with me. I can't take any more blood from her, but I've isolated her Titan factor. I can synthesize enough serum to create another army of Titan Heartless and rule whatever world I wind up on!" he then giggled like the madman he was.

"I think not, my old colleague," said Ansem as he walked into the lab.

"Ansem the Wise," said Insnao in a mocking tone, "why am I not surprised?"

"I've come to end your madness once and for all," said Ansem as he stepped closer to the goggled maniac.

"Oh really?" asked Insano, "and just how are you going to do that?"

"With this!" shouted Ansem as he tossed a white crystal at Insano. The mad genius fired a finger beam at the crystal, destroying it in a flash of intense light.

"I'm wearing goggles, you foolish old man!" snapped Insano, "did you honestly think such petty tricks would overcome the demonic intellect of Dr. Insano!?"

"And did you truly believe your cold-hearted, twisted science could overcome the power of light and the infinite strength of the heart?" asked Ansem.

"'Power of light and strength of heart?' Bah!" spat Insano, "such pathetic beliefs are easily shattered by logic and reason!"

"If there's one thing I've learned is that the heart is far more than a muscle for pumping blood," said Ansem, "I admit I was foolish for delving into the darkness to learn its secrets, for underestimating the heart and all its wonders and horrors. And you are a fool for failing to accept that there are some mysteries that science should leave alone!"

"Science is more powerful than anything!" snapped Insano, "there is no mystery that cannot be solved! With SCIENCE!" he then held up his finger triumphantly, "and you, old man," he aimed all his fingers at Ansem, "have bantered with me for the last time!" he fired a double handful of finger beams at Ansem, only for Ansem to vanish as the beams made contact.

"Ah, a hologram," said Insano, "so you're not completely out of tricks yet, old man!"

"I have so much more than tricks up my sleeves," said Ansem as he appeared behind Insano. The madman spun around and blasted Ansem with finger beams, only for Ansem to vanish again.

"Multiple holograms eh?" asked Insano as first one, then another and another Ansem appeared around him, "we'll just see about that, won't we!" he then fired finger beams in all directions, destroying the lab in the process.

"I'll get you! I'll get you yet, old man!" shouted the goggled lunatic as more Ansem holograms appeared, "I'll get you! Then there'll be nothing to stand in my way! All shall tremble at the mere mention of the name; Dr. INSANO!"

* * *

"Such misguided genius," said Ansem as he held the crystal in his hand, through which he watched Insano battle the seemingly endless army of Ansem holograms.

"How long can he stay in there?" asked Yan Lin as she, Cassidy, Halinor and Kadma stood nearby.

"You're asking me?" asked Ansem, "it was your magic that allowed me to capture the beast in the first place."

"It's virtually the same spell we tried to use on Nerissa," said Kadma, "the goggled geek, he's trapped in his own mind inside that crystal. One less monster on the lose."

"But what do we do with him?" asked Cassidy, "it's not like Ansem can put him back in that computer thingy, can he?"

"I'll take him to Kandrakar," said Halinor, "The Oracle will know what to do with him then."

"Yes, I believe that is for the best," said Ansem as he handed the crystal to Halinor, "one less monster on the loose. I only hope the rest of the monsters are as easily dealt with."

* * *

"As you can clearly see, you pitiful little heroes," said Immortal Xehanort, "I am far more than your average monster."

"Tell us something we don't know," said an exhausted Aiden as he, Riku, Tess, Aqua and Kairi, stood panting for breath around the living horror; the five of them covered in wounds and looking ready to pass out.

"We can't give up, you guys!" exclaimed Kairi as she struggled to stand up, leaning on her Keyblade for support, "we can't let this nightmare loose on the multi-verse!"

"Easier said than done, Kairi," said Tess, "I…I don't know if I can move anymore."

"Yes you can!" said Aqua defiantly, "we have to keep fighting!" she was then backhanded across the face by Immortal Xehanort before she could react, sending her crashing to the floor.

"Your defiance is admirable," said Immortal Xehanort, "yet futile! I cannot be defeated!"

"Neither will we!" said Riku, "even if you kill us, you'll never break our spirits!"

"True," said Immortal Xehanort, "but you will die, another truth." He then grabbed Riku before he could react and began strangling him, "there's nothing you can do to stop me! So long as the darkness flows from the cracked Keyholes, I am invincible!"

Just then Sabrina appeared, "thanks for confirming that for me!" she said, before zapping Riku away from the living horror. "Back in a flash!" with that she zapped herself out of the area.

"What was that all about?" asked Tess.

* * *

 **…Disney Castle…**

"Just like I thought," said Sabrina as she appeared in The Hall of the Cornerstone, "we heal the cracked Keyholes, we take out that immoral jerk."

"I thought he was immortal," said Rapunzel as she, Chihiro, Merida, Violet Baudelaire, Anna, Sofia and Lillian, stood around The Cornerstone of Light. With them was Merlin, Yen Sid and the Dunbar's.

"He can still die," said Merida, "if we do this, we take away his power."

"And undo all of Katrina's malicious mischief," said Anna, "but…I don't know what we're supposed to do."

"Just do what you do best," said Lara as she, Sylvia, Merlin and Yen Sid made their final preparations, "shine."

"Shine with the light of your pure hearts," said Sylvia.

"Easy for you to say," said Violet, "I haven't been feeling much light since Shawn was killed."

"Your heart is still beating with light, no matter how much mourning you're doing," said Chihiro, "and nothing can take that light away, not even Katrina's evil schemes. Speaking of which, are we gonna do this or not?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," said Sofia.

"As are we," said Yen Sid, "we can begin."

"But you still haven't told us what to do!" said Anna.

"Just focus on the light in your heart," said Merlin, "we'll do the rest."

"Focus on the light," said Anna, "and how am I supposed to do…oh…oh wait! There it is!" she closed her eyes in concentration and a brilliant white light shone from her heart, flashing in time with her pulse.

"Everyone take hands around The Cornerstone!" said Lillian, "and keep the light flowing from within!" with that all seven Princesses of Heart linked hands as their pure hearts lit up in sync with their heartbeats.

"Now we wait for their hearts to align," said Merlin, "when they're beating as one…"

"We cast the spell," said Yen Sid. He looked at Sabrina, "which I sincerely hope works."

"It should," said Sylvia, "she was the one who went back in time and told us what we needed to do."

"Yep, she's really got this whole meddling time traveling figured out," said Salem.

"I'm not that good," said Sabrina, "not as good as Alegra, but I'm trying. Oh, their hearts are syncing up!"

True enough, the flashes of the seven pure hearts were almost in time with each other. Only Violet's heart was out of beat with the other six.

"She still has doubts," said Sylvia, "her heart still cries out for her slain soulmate."

"It won't work if they're not perfectly aligned!" said Lara, "how do we get hers synced up?"

"I know what to do," said Sabrina. She then walked up to Violet and whispered in her ear. This caused Violet to open her eyes wide and look at Sabrina, "really?" she asked.

"Believe me, I know," said Sabrina.

At that Violet smiled and closed her eyes as her heart synched up with the other six.

"What'd you tell her?" asked Sylvia.

"Exactly what she needed to hear," said Sabrina, "now are we gonna do this or not?"

"YOU WILL NOT!" bellowed Katrina as she zapped herself into the room, "I will not allow this defilement of my twelve drowned worlds to be!"

"Sorry, sis," said Sabrina, "but I can't let you stop this."

"I'm not your sister!" said Katrina, "you weak, pathetic little half-breed!"

"Hey! You're a half-breed to, you know!" said Salem.

"I should have kicked you into the volcano when I had the chance!" said Katrina.

"Wait, I wasn't in Hawaii for the reunion," said Salem.

"You weren't," said Sabrina, "but the other Salem, the one from Katrina's universe was. Speaking of which," she smiled mischievously, "guess who I found?"

"Don't try and trick me," said Katrina, "I ran away from you once because I mistook you for _my_ Sabrina from _my_ reality! Well, it won't work again!"

"Oh will it?" asked another Sabrina as she walked into the room, "hi, sis, it's been a while."

"No!" said a terrified Katrina, "NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" with that she zapped herself out of the room.

"What was that all about?" asked Lara, "why'd she run away?" she looked at the two Sabrina's, "and why are there two of you here?"

"I found myself from the same universe as Katrina," said Sabrina, "I figured both twins needed a chance to catch up."

"She's afraid of me because I know how to truly beat her," said the other Sabrina, "the one thing that can destroy her evil once and for all."

"And that's why she needed The Gem of Immortality," said Sylvia, "to be sure she could face and destroy you."

"Hey! Are we doing this or not?!" exclaimed a worried Chihiro, "I don't know how much longer we can keep this up!"

"Better cast the spell before something else happens!" said Merlin. With that he and the other magic users began chanting their spell.

It wasn't long before The Cornerstone of Light began pulsing in rhythm with the hearts of the seven Princesses.

"This is it, Salem!" said Sabrina as the pulsing from the Cornerstone and the seven Hearts grew brighter.

"You never really told me what's gonna happen!" said Salem as Sabrina picked him up, "what the spell will do."

"I'll tell you what's gonna happen!" said Sabrina as the light grew to near blinding, "something wonderful!"

Beams of pure light shot from the seven Princesses of Heart into The Cornerstone, which then shot a bigger, brighter beam up through the castle and out into space. There the beam spread out like a shockwave across The Realms.

The light faded in the room and the seven Princesses all fell to the floor, exhausted but smiling.

"I think we did it," said Merida.

"Yeah, but what did we do?" asked Rapunzel.

"See for yourselves," said Sylvia as she summoned an image of the world from space, then zoomed the image out as the shockwave of light traversed The Realms of Light at a speed normally impossible.

"That's magic for you, defying the laws of physics," said Salem.

"The wavefront will traverse The Realms of Light," said Yen Sid, "restoring the twelve drowned worlds and planting seeds for new Cornerstones on all the worlds."

"Thereby ensuring that the darkness never threatens The Realms as badly as before," said Sylvia, "and ensuring an evil such as Katrina never holds sway."

"And you thought of it," said Lara to Sabrina.

"Well, it was Alegra's idea in the first place," said Sabrina, "I only filled in the details."

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"And you planned all of this from the beginning," said The Cosmic Owl to Alegra, "every step of the way."

"I may be going senile but I've still got a few tricks up my sleeves," said Alegra.

"Oh, the wave is about to hit Castle Oblivion," said Death, "who wants to bet it'll take out that immortal pretender?"

"I'll take that bet," said Prismo.

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

The wave of light flashed through the world, healing the wounded on the ground and in space, while restoring, destroying the offending Demons, Heartless and Nobodies still in the castle, while also destroying The Sampo.

"I don't know what this is," said a rejuvenated Riku as he and the other Keyblade Wielders got back up, "but it feels good."

"Not so good for him!" said Kairi as she pointed at Immortal Xehanort, whom thrashed about in agony, the fused Gem in his chest cracking as it was cut off from its source of darkness.

"NO!" shouted Immortal Xehanort as his body began to crumble and The Gem of Immortality shattered, "No! This cannot be!" the nightmarish flesh fell away, revealing a middle-aged Xehanort, halfway between his older and younger self.

"Now's your chance!" said Sabrina after zapping herself and Salem back onto the tower. "Do it now, Aqua!"

"Do what?" asked Aqua.

"Exorcise the evil spirit from your friend, duh!" said Salem.

"Oh, right, I didn't give her the thing," said Sabrina. She then pulled out a blue crystal and tossed it to Aqua, "use this on him!"

"Oh, one of these!" said Aqua, "thanks!" with that she rushed at Xehanort.

"No! Get away from me!" said Xehanort as he tried to run but tripped and fell. Aqua climbed on top of him, pinning the ruined dark master as she touched the crystal to his heart. There was a bloodcurdling scream as a small stream of darkness rose out of his body.

"What…what was that?" asked Kairi.

"Instant exorcism spell," said Sabrina, "took me a whole year to track down just that one spell. But it was worth it, and it worked."

The body of Xehanort morphed and grew younger, revealing a battered, bruised but very much alive and free Terra.

"Aqua…" panted Terra, freely speaking for the first time in over a decade, "thank you."

"I'm sorry it took me so long, Terra," said Aqua, "but I came back for you, just like I promised."

"I knew you'd find me," said Terra, "and…and there's something I want to tell you, something I've waited years to tell you."

"What's that?" asked a blushing Aqua, daring to hope that he would admit his affections for her.

"You've got spinach in your teeth," said Terra.

"I…what?!" exclaimed Aqua, "I do not have spinach in my teeth!" she scrapped her teeth with her fingernail, then looked at Kairi, "do I?"

"I…really wouldn't know," said Kairi as she and the others realized that Aqua did have a small speck of spinach stuck in her teeth.

"I wanted to tell you so many times," said Terra, "every time we had spinach at dinner, but…I just couldn't."

Aqua then punched him on the arm, "you big dummy! The first chance we get to talk and all you can say is that I need to brush and floss?! What's the matter with you!"

"Well excuse me if Master Eraquas never taught me how to talk to a girl!" snapped Terra as he stood up.

"I think bringing him back was a mistake," said Salem.

"Oh, they'll be fine," said Sabrina, "they'll get married in a few years and have lots of kids and live happily ever after. Oh, I almost forgot." She then picked up one of the larger shards of The Gem of Immortality, one turned black as obsidian, "we're gonna need a place for this."

"Do I want to know what that is?" Kairi asked cautiously.

"The twisted heart and soul of Xehanort," said Sabrina, "trapped where he can't hurt anyone," she then zapped the black crystal away, "and I've sent it where no one can find it," she then aimed and zapped a small spell at herself, "and now I've made myself forget where I put the crystal.

"Then it's over," said a relieved Riku, while the others sighed with equal relief, "it's finally over."

"STOP."

Reality turned black for an instant as our heroes found themselves immobilized.

"I'm afraid it's far from over," said The Lich as it walked onto the tower.

 **The End of Chapter 11.**

 _Next chapter it all comes together in a climax that will leave you shocked to the core. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!_


	13. Chapter 12: A Hero's Sacrifice

_Last time found our heroes battling through Castle Oblivion to reach Katrina before she created her Gem of Immortality. Many of the Villains met their downfall or had ran for the hills, while a multi-layered cake of betrayal rose up, resulting in Young Xehanort invoking the power of The Gem. Yet Cid's sabotage of The Sampo corrupted The Gem of Immortality, turning Young Xehanort into a nearly indestructible abomination. Fortunately for our heroes, the third generation of Princesses of Heart, with the help of Merlin, Yen Sid and the other magic users, invoked the power of The Cornerstone of Light, restoring the drowned worlds and fortifying the world's protection against the darkness, as well as weakening Immortal Xehanort enough for our heroes to destroy it. Aqua removed Xehanort's foul essence from Terra's body, freeing her fellow Keyblade Wielder after so many years. But that was only the beginning of the end. 'Nuff said, on with the show!_

 **Chapter 12: A Hero's Sacrifice**

"Then it's over," said a relieved Riku, while the others sighed with equal relief, "it's finally over."

"STOP."

Reality turned black for an instant as our heroes found themselves immobilized.

"I'm afraid it's far from over," said The Lich as it walked onto the tower. It looked at our heroes, left helpless yet completely aware, "your efforts have been valiant, there's no denying that. You've faced and overcame every obstacle in your path; destroying countless Heartless, demons and lesser monsters. You've defeated every villainous scheme set against you and set in motion the means to protect your worlds from the darkness. Yet it is all in vain."

The Lich then conjured images of Destiny Islands and every world it visited in The Realms of Light, focusing on the necromantic time bombs it planted on its tour. "While you have been scrambling for your lives, I've been playing a preverbal long game. I knew Katrina's plan would fail; how could it not when she so single-mindedly underestimated her foes? How could she succeed when all her allies were poised to betray her?

"I, on the other hand, wisely acted in the shadows, going from world to world, laying on each the instruments of death and destruction. I've placed necromantic spells on every world in The Realms of Light, even the ones afflicted by the tides of darkness. All I have to do is say the word and the spells will activate, unleashing my unholy power on those worlds. The living shall be slaughtered and the dead shall rise in their place.

"I shall turn The Realms of Light into the seat of my new undead empire, expanding outwards through The Multi-Verse. One by one all worlds, all realms, all universes, all life shall fall before my power, until there is nothing left but death and decay."

"And then what?" asked Sabrina as she appeared, pointing her finger and zapping our heroes, unfreezing them from The Lich's spell.

"And then what?" Sabrina asked again, "what will you do once you've wiped out all live in creation? What good will come from a Multi-Verse choked with walking dead?"

"How dare you!?" snapped The Lich, "what makes you, an insignificant half-breed child who's barely beginning to understand the meaning of power, what makes you believe you can stand in my way!?"

"Faith in love and peace, that's why," said Sabrina, "and more than a bit of magic up my fingers, but that's not important right now."

"Don't bother, Sabrina," said Tess, "this thing can't be reasoned with.

"I'm not trying to reason with it," said Sabrina, "I'm stalling for time."

At that The Lich let out a skin-crawling laugh, "you honestly expect to delay my triumph!? I have but to say the word and…"

"And you'll kill everyone in the realms, blah, blah, blah," said Salem as he walked up to Sabrina, "listen, mulch-face, I've seen and heard villains make all sorts of speeches of how great they are, how weak love makes you and how they'll either rule or kill everyone. Trust me, you're nothing special."

"Dude! Don't underestimate The Lich!" exclaimed Jake as he, Finn and Malcolm ran onto the roof. "He's totally crazy and evil! Oh, and there's no more Heartless in the castle, we beat them all."

"Cid and the girls are safe too," said Malcolm, "Leon and his group are getting them downstairs."

"Get out of Sora's body, Lich!" shouted Finn.

"Finn the Human and his mutt," said The Lich, "somehow you always find a way to interfere."

"I beat you before, Lich!" shouted Finn as he hefted his sword, "I'll do it again! Now get out of Sora's body and fight!"

The Lich summoned its corrupted Keyblade, "I'm afraid I can't do that. I've bonded too deeply with my host body. Not that it will do you any good!" with that it rushed at Finn, whom barely got his sword up in time to block the corrupted Keyblade. Jake and Malcolm rushed in to help yet The Lich proved too fast, too powerful for them to get any attacks in. All they could do was defend.

"He's too powerful and we're all too tired to fight," Kairi as Aqua, Riku, Tess and Aiden rushed in to battle The Lich, "even after that wave of light healed us, we've just been through too much."

"It's not over yet," said Sabrina as she walked over, "there's still one move left to make before checkmate, well two actually, but this move's all yours, Kairi. All you need to do is remember."

"Remember what?" asked Kairi.

"What your grandmother told you about your crown," said Sabrina, "think back, before Maleficent attacked your world and you had to run away to Destiny Island. Remember what your grandmother said." She then touched Kairi's forehead.

Kairi's eyes widened as a repressed memory came to light…

* * *

 **…Radiant Garden…several years ago…**

"What is that, grandma?" asked four-year-old Kairi as she and her grandmother stood in a room full of royal regalia. Before them in a glass case sat the diadem of Radiant Garden.

"Something for you when you're old enough, dear one," said Kairi's grandmother, "something very precious and powerful."

"What does it do?" asked Kairi.

"It gives you special magic," said Kairi's grandmother, "but only if you're worthy of receiving it."

"What kind of magic?" asked Kairi.

"Magic to defend those you love," said Kairi's grandmother, "to banish the darkness and protect life from those who wish to take it away."

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…today…**

"'To protect life from those who wish to take it away,'" said Kairi, "I know what to do, I think I do."

"Then do it!" said Sabrina as she pointed at the fight, where one by one the Keyblade Wielders fell before the unholy power of The Lich. Struck a crippling wound by the corrupted Keyblade, The Lich then infected our heroes with a necromantic spell, slowly draining them of life that would soon leave them as animated corpses. Only Finn, Jake and Aqua were still able to fight, but not for much longer.

"Okay, here goes everything!" said Kairi. She closed her eyes and focused on the power of her heart, amplified by the power of the diadem. Both heart and crown glowed brightly.

"What…!? What is this?!" exclaimed The Lich as the light distracted it.

"A power greater than yours, necromancer!" said Kairi as she opened her eyes, which glowed with the same light as her heart and crown, "the power of light, love and hope!" She then fired a beam of pure light at The Lich, immobilizing the creature and canceling the life-draining spell. The light grew to blinding intensity, then faded out.

"NO! This cannot be!" exclaimed The Lich as it tried to move but couldn't, while Kairi nearly fell over in exhaustion. Sabrina caught her before she fell down.

"Believe it or not, you're done for!" shouted Salem.

"Finn! Catch!" shouted Sabrina as she pulled out the glowing pink thing and threw it to Finn. He caught it and it expanded into a large, pink cone.

"Another Maid!" said Finn as he and Jake held it together.

"A what?" asked Riku as he, Tess, Aiden and Malcolm recovered from the life-draining spell.

"It's for fixing interdimensional bug-ups," said Jake, "and this one's custom made, I guess."

Our heroes clustered around Finn and read the writing on the back of The Maid.

 _ **Finn**_

 _ **I had to work overtime to get another Maid ready for you**_

 _ **I'm sure you remember how to use it but I'll remind you anyway….**_

' _ **Direct the small end of The Maid towards your mistake**_

 _ **Focus your intention until all distractions leave your thought sphere**_

 _ **Then recite the words 'A man needs a maid' three times.'**_

 _ **Don't miss, Finn, you'll only get this one shot and I can't make another in time.**_

 _ **Prismo**_

 _ **P.S. Do the right thing.**_

"What'd Prismo mean by 'do the right thing?' asked Finn.

"Who cares?" asked Jake, "just point it at The Lich and blast it out of existence again!"

"And hurry!" shouted a strained Kairi, "I don't know if I can use my powers against it again!"

"Your…power…will…not…defeat me!" shouted The Lich as it fought to move.

"But this will!" said Jake as he shaped his body into a tripod for the pink cone, "ready to fire, Finn!"

"Gotcha, bro!" said Finn as he placed The Maid onto Jake and aimed it at The Lich, "A man needs…"

"If you use that…my host dies as well!" shouted The Lich.

"What…what!?" exclaimed Finn as he lowered The Maid.

"Don't listen to him!" shouted Riku, "he's just trying break your concentration!"

"Yeah, Finn!" said Jake, "you used the pink thing on The Lich when he possessed Farmworld me and that me turned out fine, though he's still stupid if you ask me."

"My host is no mere dog," said The Lich, "I've bonded with this boy's heart! Destroy my essence and you destroy this his heart as well!"

"Liar!" shouted Kairi.

"See for yourself," said The Lich as it raised one trembling arm and tore open its chest, revealing Sora's internal organs for all to see.

"Ugg! Nasty!" exclaimed Malcolm, while the others had looks and reactions of disgust and outrage.

"Look! Look at Sora's heart!" said Riku. True enough, everyone could see Sora's heart, infected with the black spirit of The Lich.

"Now do you understand?" asked The Lich, "destroy me and you destroy your friend. Now…FALL!"

With that everyone collapsed to the ground as their energy drained.

"You poor, pathetic fools," said The Lich as it summoned back its corrupted Keyblade, "you actually believed that you could overcome the power of death, my power! Permit me to prove you wrong!" it then walked over to Kairi, "watch as I snuff out the light of your hope, and then raise her up as my undead queen!" it raised the corrupted Keyblade to strike down Kairi.

But the corrupted Keyblade froze in mid-swing, or rather, the arm of The Lich froze.

"What…no! NO! it cannot be!" exclaimed The Lich as it found itself immobilized again.

An ethereal image of Sora appeared behind The Lich, restraining the creature's arm and holding it by the chest, "Get up, Kairi!" shouted Sora's spirit, "everyone, get up!"

"Sora!" shouted a joyful Kairi as she and the others recovered their strength and stood up, "I knew you were still in there!"

"Like a stupid necromancer could keep us apart," said Sora, "not even death can break our bond."

"Don't make me laugh!" snapped The Lich, "death conquers all, even true love!"

"Wanna bet?!" asked Sora, "let's see which is stronger, your death or the life of love! Finn! Do it now!"

"Do what?" asked Finn, "wait, you want me to use The Maid on you?! That's crazy!"

"You'll die too, Sora!" exclaimed Riku, "we saw what The Lich did to your heart! If we destroy it, you…"

"I know," said Sora, "but it'll be worth it. Take out The Lich as you cancel out all his necro time bombs across the worlds!"

"How could you possibly know that?!" demanded The Lich.

"You trolled my memories, so I did the same to yours," said Sora, "I know all your dirty little secrets," he looked at Kairi, "believe me, you do not want to know what's in this jerk's mind."

"How bad could it be?" asked Kairi.

"Bad," said Sora, "really, really bad, bad enough to destroy entire worlds, and I can't let that info get out of my head, so you gotta take me out as well."

"He's willing to sacrifice himself to keep everyone safe from The Lich's power," said Aqua, "remarkable. He's truly a Keyblade Master, if not in deed than in spirit."

"He's not sacrificing himself!" shouted Riku, "we'll find another way to get The Lich out of him, there has to be a way!"

"Fools! You'll never find a way in time!" shouted The Lich, "now dies The Realms of Light!" it then began chanting its unholy curse, only to have its words muffled by Sora's spirit.

"I can't hold him much longer!" shouted Sora, "you gotta do it now!"

"No! There's gotta be another way!" said Riku, "Finn, don't do it!" he started towards Finn, only to find himself restrained by Aiden and Malcolm, "What are you doing?!"

"Stopping you, obviously!" said Malcolm.

"Sora's willing to give up everything for everyone!" said Aiden, "don't spoil it!"

"I'm trying to save Sora, you idiot!" shouted Riku, "Tess! Help me!"

"I…I can't," said Tess as she stood still, her hands folded over her heart and tears forming in her eyes, "this…this is what Sora wants."

"How about what I want?!" shouted Riku, "and what Kairi wants!? Kairi! Stop them! Please!"

Instead of rushing to Riku's aid, Kairi walked up to Sora's spirit and kissed him, "I love you, I'll always love you."

"Me too," said Sora as Kairi backed away, "no matter how far apart we are, we'll always be together." He then had to tighten his grip on The Lich as the creature nearly broke free, "it's now or never, Finn!"

"Don't you dare, Finn!" shouted Riku as he fruitlessly struggled against Aiden and Malcolm, "don't you kill my friend!"

"Prismo said do the right thing, bro," said Jake.

Finn then let out a frustrated cry as he lifted The Maid back onto Jake and aimed it at The Lich.

"A man needs a maid! A man needs a maid! A man needs a maid!"

The pink cone lit up with a loud **'DING!'**

' _Housekeeping!'_

The Maid fired a blinding pink beam of light at The Lich.

"NOOOOOOOO!" shouted the unholy sorcerer as it and Sora were obliterated.

"It's over," said Finn as The Maid vanished and Jake stretched back to his normal shape, "it's over."

"Yeah, it's over," said a downtrodden Aiden as he and Malcolm released Riku, while Tess feely cried, "The Lich is gone."

"And so's Sora," said Malcolm.

"You son of a bitch!" shouted Riku as he rushed up to and punched Finn in the face, knocking him on his back.

"Dude! What the…!" shouted Jake, only to be shoved aside as Riku grabbed Finn by the shirt.

"You killed my best friend, you son of a bitch!" shouted Riku, only to be restrained again by Aiden and Malcolm.

"Killing him won't bring Sora back," said Malcolm.

"He's gone, Riku," said Aiden, "Sora sacrificed himself for all of us."

"He's right, Riku," said Kairi as she walked over, taking off the diadem and letting it fall through her fingers, "Sora wouldn't want you to be angry."

Riku tried to find the words to argue but couldn't. Instead he fell to his knees, crying as he mourned his best friend.

"No, I don't accept this," said Terra as Aqua helped him stand up, "I refuse to accept it, not after everything."

"There's nothing we can do," said Aqua.

"I refuse to accept it," Terra said again, "I won't accept any more dead friends, lost loves or shattered lives, not after all the evil Xehanort forced me to do."

"Just face it, man," said Salem, "it's not like you can just wish the kid back to life, not even the full power of The Witches Council can bring back the dead, and believe me, they tried."

"The Witches Council can't," said Sabrina, "but I know someone who can."

"Oh yeah? Who?" asked Salem, "oh, that's right, he can be wished back."

"That's right! Riku! You get a wish!" said Tess.

"I do get a wish!" said Riku. He then shouted as loud as he could, "PRISMO!" with that he, Kairi, Finn and Sabrina were teleported out of their universe.

"Uh…where did they go?" asked Terra.

"It's a long story," said Aiden.

* * *

 **…The Time Room…**

"Alright, I hear you," said Prismo after Riku, Kairi, Finn and Sabrina arrived, "you didn't have to shout so loud."

"I just wanted to be sure you did hear me," said Riku, "and hear me now, Prismo, for you owe me a wish."

"I know," said Prismo, "and I know what you want to wish for. But before you make that wish, I should warn you, resurrecting the dead isn't as easy as you might thing."

"How's it not, Prismo?" asked Finn, "you can do so much. You created a whole dimension for my wish, and then you altered history in that dimension."

"That was just a little cut and paste," said Prismo, "changing one small aspect of the timeline and altering only a few relative weeks. This is so much more complicated."

"Believe me," said Death, "it is."

"Mind explaining it to us all?" asked Alegra, "and not just because my mind isn't what it used to be."

"Technically, it can be done," said The Cosmic Owl, "Prismo can bring Sora back to life."

"After I do all the hard work," said Death, "Finn, when you asked me to save Princess Bubblegum from the corrupting influence of The Lich, you had no idea how many strings I had to pull to restore her to life. The King of Mars had to sacrifice his immortality to bring back your brother," he then glared at Alegra, "don't get me started how much a headache you cause every time you come gasping back to life," he then looked at Prismo, "and remember the fiasco Magic Man's wish turned out when he asked you to bring back his girlfriend?"

"Yeah, that was a first-time goof up," said Prismo, "but it can be done," he looked at Riku, "though not without consequences."

"Yes, I know, the ironic twist," said Riku, "I don't care, I just want my best friend back…uh…please."

"I know it's what you want," said Alegra, "but is it what everyone wants?" she looked at Kairi, "do you want this? And is it what Sora would want?"

"I don't know," said Kairi, "I really don't know if Sora would want it, but…but if I could…of only for just…"

"Ironic twists aside," interrupted Death, "there's always a price to pay for this kind of power. As Ogdoad is fond of saying, 'to receive, you must pay.'"

"I'll pay whatever price," said Riku, "even if it means giving up half my life to restore Sora's. I'll give up my whole life if I have to."

"I know you are willing to pay the price," said Alegra, "but is it what everyone else would want?" she looked at Kairi again, "is it what you'd want? And what about Sora? Would he want his friends sacrificing themselves to save him?"

"I don't know," said Kairi, "I don't think it's what Sora would want. No, I do know it's not what he would want. But…" she began crying, "if there was a reasonable price to pay, if I could have Sora back, even for a short time, just so I can talk to and hold him one more time, then I'd pay that price."

"You won't get the chance!" shouted Hades as he appeared in the room.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" exclaimed an outraged Riku.

"Exercising my rights as a god, you stupid mortal," said Hades smugly, "Sora died in The Realms of light, and since I'm in charge of all dearly departed in The Realms of light, Sora's soul is mine to do with as I please!"

"Oh, shoot," said Death, "I knew I forgot about something."

"No, this can't be," said a heartbroken Kairi, "you can't have Sora's soul! You just can't!"

"I'd be a poor Lord of the Underworld if I passed up this opportunity," said Hades, "not after all the grief that Keyblade brat caused me."

"Then I'll fight you for his soul, Hades!" said Riku as he summoned his Keyblade.

"I'll fight too!" said Kairi as she summoned her Keyblade.

"No! Don't fight here!" said Alegra, "you can't fight in The Time Room!" she glared at Hades, "that goes for you too, ember-hair."

"Alegra Wells," said Hades, "oh, how I've wanted to get my hands on your soul!" He summoned a fireball as his rage flared up, changing his color from blue to red, "let's see you come back to life after this!" he threw his fireball at Alegra, hitting her in the chest and sending her flying against the wall. Alegra fell to the floor, dead.

"Oh, you shouldn't have done that," said The Cosmic Owl, "you broke the rules, Hades."

"Rules? What rules!?" exclaimed Hades, "I'm a god for crying out loud! I play by my own rules!"

"Even gods must obey rules," said Prismo, "and you just broke a new but important rule of the multi-verse; 'no violence in The Time Room.'"

"What are you talking about?" asked Hades, just as a portal opened up, revealing a massive crystalline structure floating in space.

"The Citadel," said Finn, "they fixed it after The Lich went wild there."

"What…what is this?" asked Hades as he looked into the portal, just as a Citadel Guardian reached through and grabbed him, "What are you doing?! Let me go! Do you have any idea who you're messing with?!" That's as far as Hades got before the Citadel Guardian pulled him into the portal, which closed up after him.

"What was that all about?" asked an astonished Kairi.

Alegra came gasping back to life and brushed soot off her clothes, "that," she said as she stood up and walked back over, "was an upper-level deity committing an act of aggression in a place he shouldn't have. The Lich committed a similar crime when he murdered Prismo's real body, a mortal sin in itself, but to do so in a place of peace and friendship as The Time Room, another mortal sin of another color."

"Then…is Hades gone?" asked Kairi.

"Gone where?" asked Riku.

"To The Citadel," said The Cosmic Owl, "a prison reserved for the worst of lawbreakers, the vilest of criminals in the Multi-verse."

"Where he should have gone a long time ago," said Alegra, "and, hopefully, where he'll remain until time stops. Eventually the Olympic gods are going to have to choose a new lord of the underworld, but that's a whole other kettle of fish. Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"

"I'm sure we can come to a reasonable arrangement," said The Cosmic Owl as he looked at Death, "can't we, old friend?"

"I hate it when the friendship card is used against me," grumbled Death as he crossed his arms, "alright, I can bring him back, but only for twenty-four hours and not one second longer."

"One day?" asked Riku, "that's all?"

"That's the deal," said Death, "One day and his soul is mine to escort to the other side; take it or leave it."

"He'll take it," insisted Kairi. She looked at Riku with persistent eyes, "it's one more day Sora wouldn't have otherwise."

"Alright," sighed Riku, "I wish Sora would live again, if only for one more day."

"Consider it done," said Prismo, "but before I grant your wish and send you back," he looked at Kairi, "you get a wish to, you know."

"Be very careful what you wish for, Kairi," said Alegra, "there's no guarantee your wish will turn out the way you want it."

"Yeah, you really don't want to take wishing lightly," said Sabrina.

"And no wishing for more time with Sora," said Death, "that's another condition in the deal."

"Any more conditions?" asked Prismo, "just so I'll know when I grant the wish."

"Umm….no, no more conditions," said Death.

"Well, I don't want to make any wishes right now," said Kairi, "I'll save mine, for a rainy day."

"That's reasonable," said Prismo, "so say hi to Sora for me when you see him."

"And tell him he owes me," said Death.

"Wait…how…?" asked Riku as he, Kairi, Sabrina and Finn were teleported out of The Time Room.

* * *

 **…Castle Oblivion…**

"Uh…what happened?" asked Sora as he stood on the tower rooftop, hale and whole as ever.

"SORA!" exclaimed Kairi as she ran up to and tackled him to the floor, kissing and hugging him for dear life.

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Aiden, while Malcolm and Tess stood speechless.

"They did it," said Salem, "Prismo came through."

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" asked Sora between kisses and hugs, "one second I was…I mean…I wasn't…and now I am again." He scratched his head, "I'm so confused."

"Just hold and kiss me, you lazy bum!" said a joyfully crying Kairi.

"You've been given a brief reprieve from death by Death himself," said Riku as he gently pulled Kairi away and helped Sora up, "twenty-four hours among the living."

"One day?" asked Tess, "you asked Prismo to bring Sora back for just one day?!"

"It's the best Prismo could do under the circumstances," said Sabrina.

"Too bad he won't live to live it!" shouted Katrina as she appeared on the rooftop, along with a cringing Zotarius and an annoyed Regina.

"Oh for crying out loud!" exclaimed Malcolm.

"Haven't you had enough already?!" asked Tess.

"It'll never be enough," said Katrina, "I vow this before all of you Keyblade Brats," she then glared at Sabrina, "and you, my twin and not twin. I vow unrelenting revenge on the pack of you! I will never stop until you and all my enemies have suffered soul-shattering suffering! I will not stop until I've tortured every last one of you until you are broken in mind and heart! And I swear that I will never rest until I've made all of reality suffer equally! And I'll start with these!"

With a flick of her wrist, Katrina held three glowing lights.

"The missing powers!" exclaimed Tess, "those belong to Belle, Jasmine and Cinderella!"

"And now they're mine," said Katrina, "Leslie came through for me after all. I shall corrupt these powers and use them to make a trio of Princesses of Dark! They'll be better, stronger and far more loyal than Darklight, and with them at my command, nothing can stop me!"

"You could do that," said the other Sabrina as she appeared on the rooftop, "or you could stop whining and talk to me already."

"No!" said a terrified Katrina, "get away from me!"

"What's wrong with you?!" asked Zotarius, "you grab me just as I was about to make my escape so we can launch one last attack, and now _you're_ running away? What is wrong with you?!"

"That's what I want to know!" snapped Regina. She then smiled coldly at Sora and Kairi, "well done beating The Lich by the way. I always knew you'd win somehow."

"Shut up!" shouted Katrina, her face a mix of terror and unadulterated rage, "I'll destroy you all! I'll…"

That's as far as Katrina got before the other Sabrina zapped her mouth shut and made her sit down, the three stolen powers falling from her hands. Riku, Aiden and Tess dove and caught the orbs of light before they hit the floor.

"Finally, I can say what I have to say," sighed the other Sabrina.

"How'd you do that?" asked Kairi as Riku, Aiden and Tess stood up, cradling their precious cargo in their hands, "how'd you overpower her so easily? And why is she so afraid of you?"

"We're from the same dimension," said the other Sabrina, "I know how her mind works."

"And she knows how to destroy Katrina," said Sabrina, "in their reality, after Katrina revealed her true self at the volcano, she vowed to kill her Sabrina. The Witches Council put a spell on Katrina that prevents her from directly harming her Sabrina."

"Her magic doesn't work on me," said the other Sabrina, "so she spent all this time getting The Gem of Immortality so she could finally have her revenge." She looked at her twin, "but you kept underestimating the power of the heart, how love always finds a way to conquer evil."

"You see," said Sabrina, "when this Sabrina and Katrina went to their family reunion and Katrina was exposed as the evil twin, their Drell, he's the head of The Witches Council, he actually did something constructive for a change."

"I know, shocking to the core," said Salem.

"Anyway," said the other Sabrina, "Drell cast two spells, one on me the other on Katrina. Her spell prevents her from harming me with magic, so she decided to use others to try and kill me," she looked at her twin, now trembling with terror, "your choice in minions wasn't very good back then."

"Hasn't changed much either," said Sabrina, "The other spell…well…you'll all get to see."

"My sister," said the other Sabrina as she sat in front of Katrina, "I'm so sorry for what's happened to you. I'm sorry our family has that stupid rule about twins being separated at birth. We missed out on so much together. If we hadn't been raised apart, things might have turned out differently.

"Yet despite all the times you tried to kill me, despite all the pain and suffering you've spread across time and space, despite all the evil you've done and still hope to do, I still love you."

"NO! Stop it!" shouted Katrina as she began to break through the restraining spell, "Keep away from me! Don't touch me!"

"And most of all," said the other Sabrina, "despite everything," she then flung her arms around Katrina in a sisterly embrace, "I forgive you."

"NOOOOOOO!" shouted Katrina as her body turned to stone, then shattered into pieces.

"Oh my gods!" exclaimed a horrified Aiden, while the others looked equally shocked, "you…you killed her!"

"That wasn't supposed to happen!" said the other and equally horrified Sabrina as she stood up, "Was it?"

"I knew Drell couldn't be trusted!" said Salem, "he was the one who had me turned into a cat after all!"

"This must be the ironic twist from my wish," said Sabrina.

"Sort of," said Aunt Zelda as she and Aunt Hilda zapped themselves onto the roof, "but it's also Katrina's fault."

"Oh, thank goodness," said a relieved Sabrina, "everyone, these are my aunts."

"Nice to meet you," said Aunt Hilda, "and you, young lady, how dare you go galavandering across time and space without so much as sending us a postcard!"

"Do you even know how much time has passed for you?" asked Aunt Zelda, "how much you've aged? Just look at yourself in the mirror? How are you going to explain this to your friends? And what about Harvey?"

"Oh geez!" said Sabrina as she realized just how far she had gone, "what am I gonna tell Harvey," she then blinked in surprise, "oh, I know what to do, but that can wait, what about Katrina?!"

"The spell wasn't supposed to do this," said the other Sabrina as she held the fragments of her sister in her hands, "it was supposed to drive the darkness from her heart and give her a fresh chance, a new start. But this…this is like the time Harvey, Josh and Luke all said 'goodbye' and I fell to pieces," she looked at Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, "that hasn't happened to your Sabrina yet."

"I'm supposed to fall to pieces?" asked Sabrina.

"Yes, that happens to Witches sometimes," said Aunt Hilda, "it's a real mess to clean up."

"But not irreversible," said Aunt Zelda, "I believe what happened here is that Katrina's inner darkness and the new light her Sabrina gave her clashed in her heart. It was just to much for her and she simply…well…did this," she indicated the fragments.

"There is a way to fix her," said Aunt Hilda, "but, I don't think you'll like it."

"Who do I have to kill?" asked the other Sabrina.

"You gotta get another Witch to sacrifice their adult years to put her back together," said Salem.

"And that Witch will get to start over again as a child," said Aunt Zelda.

"Oh yeah, that's what happened," said the other Sabrina, "but…"

"Who are we gonna ask to give up their life and start over as a kid?" asked Sabrina, "uh…I'm sure between the two of us, we can fix her without any sacrifices. But speaking of sacrifices," she then plucked out a few of her blonde hairs, rubbed them between her hands and blew them into the air.

The hairs then morphed into yet another Sabrina, this one exactly as she was the day Alegra first appeared in her house in Westbridge.

"So, I'm you but how you were supposed to be," said the third Sabrina.

"Yep," said Sabrina, "you're gonna live the life I'm giving up back home."

"Wait, what are you doing, Sabrina?" asked Aunt Zelda.

"I've gone too far and seen too much to go back to the way things were," said Sabrina, "Alegra needed someone to take her place, and I want the job." She looked at her younger self, "go home and live as best you can, and be good to Harvey or I'll come over there and kick your butt."

"No problem," said the third Sabrina, "but before you make me forget everything you know so I won't get confused and screw things up, aren't you forgetting something?" she looked at Salem.

"Oh, right!" said Sabrina, she then plucked some of Salem's fur, earning an annoyed yelp from him.

"Hey! Watch the coat!" said Salem, "I just got groomed!"

"Just be lucky you get to come with me!" said Sabrina as she made a copy of Salem to give to her younger self.

"Hello, handsome!" said the other Salem.

"Right back atcha!" said Salem.

"Oh, there's one more thing I forgot," said Sabrina. She turned around and saw Zotarius trying to sneak away. "Going somewhere?"

"As a matter of fact, I was," said Zotarius, "I was beating a hasty retreat to plot my revenge! Enjoy what time you have, foolish ones! For I shall return! I, Zotarius: The Despoiler! Summoner of…"

"Oh shut up!" shouted Regina. With a wave of her hand, she transfigured Zotarius into a common brown-furred rat.

"Oh, that felt so good," said a satisfied Regina.

"Not as good as this!" said Salem, "revenge is so very, very sweet!" with that he chased after Zotarius the rat.

"Save a piece for me!" said the other Salem as he too gave chase.

"So, you're the only one left," said Sora to Regina.

"I'll be out of your hair for good soon enough, Sora," said Regina as she summoned a traveling cloak and a packed valise, "this is goodbye forever, I've had enough of The Realms of Light, of Keyblades and Heartless."

"You really are leaving?" asked Kairi.

"Yes," said Regina. With that she vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.

"Well…I guess that's that," said Sora.

"It sure is," said Salem as he and his clone came trotting back smugly, a bit of rat tail sticking out of his mouth.

"I told you to leave some for me," said the other Salem, "well, win some and lose some. Time to go home!"

"Good luck bouncing around creation!" said the third Sabrina to Sabrina. With that she zapped herself and the other Salem back to Westbridge.

"I'll come visit when she's not around," said Sabrina to her aunts, "just as soon as I take care of a few things."

"Like what?" asked Aunt Zelda, "is it dangerous? Are you getting enough to eat and sleep?"

"She's not our Sabrina anymore," said Aunt Hilda, "she's her own Witch now."

"Which is how it should be," said Aunt Zelda, "then all we can do is let her live her life." With that the two aunts zapped themselves home.

"Family, it must be great," said Tess.

"It has its ups and downs," said Sabrina, "but worth it in the end. Now. Before I go run my errands, there's one more thing I need to take care of." With that she walked over to and slapped Sora on the side of the head, knocking Roxas out of him.

"Is…is that thing gone?" asked Roxas, "I was afraid it'd wipe me out if it knew I was hiding in Sora's heart."

"The Lich is gone," said Naminé as she emerged from Kairi, "we're all safe, and…" she smiled and blushed a bit, "and I've got a surprise for everyone."

"You're wiping our memories so we can forget this horrible ordeal?" asked Malcolm.

"Better than that," said Naminé. "Say, Kairi, remember that dark version of you that came from when you were cursed to believe Sora was a blood-sucking monster?"

"How could I forget?" asked Kairi, "wait…you mean…"

"Her heart which you've been slowly purifying inside your own," said Naminé, "thanks to that big crown thingy of yours, it's clean, and in me," she beamed with joy, "I'm not a Nobody anymore! I'm finally a Somebody!" she looked at Roxas, "and you, you're about to merge with your Somebody!"

"That's right! I've got Ventus's heart sleeping in me!" said Roxas.

"I remember where I hid Ven's body!" said Aqua, "come on!" with that she, Terra, Roxas and Naminé ran down the stairs, just as Marceline, Tidus, Wakka and Selphie walked up.

"Sora! You're back!" shouted Tiddus as he, Wakka and Selphie ran up to him.

"Yeah, kinda," said Sora, "it's a long story."

"Well, get this, man!" said Wakka, "Cloud wiped out Sephiroth!"

"He didn't really kill him," said Selphie, "but you should see what he did."

"He totally cut Sephiroth's wing off!" said Tidus, "and Sephiroth ran away."

"He won't be bothering us any time soon," said Selphie, "so…what's this about you kinda being back?"

"Uh…it's…" said Sora, unable to tell his friends he had less than a day left.

"He's got a lot of things to take care of," said Kairi as she gripped Sora's hand, "a lot of catching up to do and not much time to do it, we all do."

"Yeah," said Sora, "so let's make the best of it."

"Finn, you have a habit of picking up really strange but cool friends," said Marceline.

"Yeah, I sure do," said Finn.

 **The end of Chapter 12.**

 _The story's not quite over yet, fellow readers and writers, so stay tuned!_


	14. Epilog: Looking Forward

**Epilog: Looking Forward**

… **The Time Room…**

"Uh…remind me what we're watching now?" asked Alegra as she sat with The Cosmic Owl and Death.

"Highlights of Sora's last day," said Prismo as the screen showed Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aiden, Tess and Malcolm teleport back to Radiant Garden. Our heroes hurried to where Cinderella, Belle and Jasmine were being kept and, after wasting almost an hour trying to figure out which power went with which princess, restored said powers to their rightful owners. The next clip showed Cinderella, Belle and Jasmine waking up, right as rain and returned to their loved ones.

"One less tragedy averted," said The Cosmic Owl.

"And there's another," said Alegra as the next clip showed Alice recovering from her drawing fugue. After that, the screen showed our heroes teleporting across The Realms, stopping briefly on each world to check in with friends and see that everyone was alright. The tour ended with our heroes heading back to Radiant Garden for a brief farewell celebration with the survivors of the battle.

All the various Meta-Human groups, The New Zumakali, The Survey Corps, the gamers, The Guardians and their loved ones, the third tier of Princesses of Heart, even Saitama and Genos, everyone was on Radiant Garden to celebrate their victory and remember those who gave up their lives for the sake of love and peace.

After a long series of goodbyes and well wishes, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aiden, Tess and Malcolm returned to Destiny Islands. They were saddened by the loss of The Paopu Tree at the vile hands of The Lich, but Malcolm spotted one last ripe Paopu fruit, washed up on the beach. They cut the seed out and planted it on the small island, hoping it would grow as tall as the old tree.

They watched the sun go down and retired to their respective homes, save for one. Kairi insisted that Sora spend the night with her, that this would be their last night together. They kissed as they turned out the light.

"I'm gonna fast forward through the X-rated part," said Prismo, "no need to embarrass Sora for that."

"Though you gotta admit," said The Cosmic Owl, "if you're gonna do it, your last night alive is as good a time as any." This earned laughter from The Cosmic Owl, Prismo and Death.

"Oh leave him alone!" said Alegra as she walked over to and placed a comforting hand on a highly embarrassed Sora, whom had been there the whole time, "it's bad enough he's dead again, no need to humiliate him just when he finally consummated his marriage."

"No, it's alright," said Sora, "it's just…do I have to go?"

"The deal was twenty-four hours, kid," said Death, "it was either that nor not bring you back at all."

"Oh, here's the best part!" said Prismo as he resumed the video.

Kairi awoke early in the morning and felt her bed beside her empty. For a second her heart felt like it was going to break beyond repair, but then she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She got up and went to the open window and saw a new star shining in the predawn light, a star she knew came from Sora.

"I love you, Sora," said Kairi to the new star, "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Kairi," said Sora as he placed a hand on the screen, "more than words can say."

"Change the channel, Prismo," sniffed The Cosmic Owl, "before I start crying."

"Oh, right," sniffed Prismo as he wiped his two-dimensional eyes. He fast-forward the video to a few weeks in the future, showing our heroes helping their friends and allies across The Realms of Light cleaning up the mess made by the cracked Keyholes.

Another screen showed Kazuto and Asuna attending Miskatonic University, with Yui's camera shared between them. Another showed Eren and his fellow Survey Corps eventually sealing up Wall Maria and finding the means to defeat The Titans once and for all.

"It looks as if I did pretty well," said Alegra as more images showed our heroes and allies moving on with their lives.

" _You_ did well?" asked Death.

"Well, I set most of this in motion," said Alegra, "and I did have help, a lot of help."

"You sure did," said Prismo as the screen showed Sabrina, helping the other Sabrina put Katrina back together and restoring her life.

"She is not amused," said Alegra as Sabrina left the other Sabrina to rehabilitate her sister, "but somehow I doubt Katrina will cause any more trouble, at least for a while. And that Sabrina," the screen showed the younger version of Sabrina living her life as it should have had Alegra never met her, "Let's hope her life turns out as normal as it possibly can for a teenage witch."

"But…what about Regina?" asked Sora, "And Insano? And what about any other villain trying to attack The Realms of Light."

"See for yourself," said Prismo as the videos showed the new Cornerstones of Light forming across The Realms.

"The Heartless will always be a threat," said Alegra, "and always will be so long as humans carry darkness in their hearts. But they'll never be such massive numbers in The Realms as before. Any would-be villain will have a hard time getting things done without The Heartless and other dark creatures to use."

"As for old goggles and the former evil queen," said The Cosmic Owl, "he's locked up in a secure room in Kandrakar, and she…well…"

The screen showed Regina sitting on a dark throne on a world she conquered easily, content with a world of her own to rule, so long as she had her mirrors to satisfy her vanity.

"Let's just hope her narcissism doesn't get out of control again," said Alegra, "oh, how could I forget? Let's see what happens to the Keyblade Wielders."

"Oh yeah," said Prismo, "we gotta check that out."

The screen shoed Aqua, Terra and Ven, now carrying Roxas's memories. Various clips showed Aqua and Terra finally realizing their feelings for each other, while Ventas picked up with Naminé where she left off with Roxas.

Another series of clips showed Riku and Tess getting married and having children, while Malcolm achieved a more stable relationship with Merida. Aiden decided to go home to The State and start anew as an independent Alchemist.

As for Kairi, she had a son from her one night with Sora.

"Congrats, kido!" said The Cosmic Owl as he thumped Sora on the shoulder with one wing, "you're a father! Somebody get him a cigar!"

"I…I'm a dad?" asked a shocked Sora as he watched clips of his child with Kairi grow up to become a strong Keyblade Wielder in his own right.

"The irony in Riku's wish," said Prismo, "but good irony this time."

"I don't even know his name," said Sora as he saw his son grow into a strong young man with Sora's hairstyle but Kairi's coloring. Another image, one twenty or so years into the future, saw Sora's son standing in the beach at Destiny Islands, demonstrating how to fight with a Keyblade before an audience of teenagers and children, some with wooden Keyblades, others with Keyblades of their own. Among the children were two with features of Ventus and Naminé, some resembling Riku and Tess, while one had Merida's hair and Malcolm's face.

Relaxing on the small island in the shade of the new Paopu tree was Kairi, smiling at her son. The sun had just set and the stars came out. She looked up and smiled a specific star, which, she imagined, was smiling back at her.

"I am smiling at you," said a crying Sora, "oh, Kairi, I wish I could…wait…what's that?!" he looked at another image, one that showed Maleficent's hidden dark castle, illuminated beneath flashing thunderclouds.

Eight dark individuals knelt in an unholy chamber, waiting patiently, training and growing stronger for the day they have prepared. That day has come as the object they were kneeling around, a mass of proto-matter hardened into a cocoon, cracked open and shattered.

Maleficent emerged from the cocoon, looking much more human than her previous form, with long, flowing brown hair, intense green eyes, sculpted facial features and much longer, more detailed horns. From her back flexed a pair of enormous, brown-feathered wings.

"At last," said Maleficent as two of the individuals dressed her in dark robes, while another handed her a new staff of power, "the long silence is over, an eternity of waiting is complete. The resurrection has come, as I always knew it would.

Maleficent's raven, Diablo, flew from a nearby perch and landed on her shoulder.

"We've awoken into a new era, my pet," said Maleficent as she and her dark followers walked out onto a balcony, "I sense The Realms have changed greatly during our long convalescence. They have enjoyed peace and prosperity far too long."

Maleficent looked out the balcony, where countless throngs of Heartless and other fell creatures gathered, waiting their mistress, "And so it begins again," said Maleficent as she and her Dark Disciples looked out at their army of darkness, ready to unleash upon those who stood against the mistress of all evil.

"She's back and worse than ever!" said Sora as he backed away from the screen, "you've got to send me back! Kairi and the others, they don't know!"

"They'll know when the time is right, Sora," insisted Alegra, "they will rise to this new challenge and overcome it in their own manner. As much as I hate to admit it, your part of the story is over."

"Indeed it is," said Death, "it's time, Sora"

"Time?" asked Sora, "wait…no, no! I can't go with you! I just found out that I had a baby with Kairi! And Maleficent's coming back! I can't go! I…have to go back! I have to!" he looked at Prismo, "I wish I could go back to Kairi and our baby! Please!"

"I'm sorry, Sora," said Prismo, "I can't grant wishes for the dead."

"You're lucky I let you stick around long enough to see that your loved ones turn out alright without you," said Death, "now come on!" he pulled out a pocket watch, "it's late enough as it is."

"Alegra, can't you do something?" asked Sora, "for old time's sake?"

"It's out of my hands, Sora," said Alegra, "I may have an indefinite reprieve from the reaper, but I can't interfere with your death," she then smiled and looked at Death, "unless you want to exchange my immortality for his death."

"Not this time," said Death.

"Darn," said Alegra, "I'm starting to get bored with immortality."

"We'll work something out later," said Death, "And now," he looked at Sora, "it's time."

The next thing Sora knew, he and Death were walking through a long hallway filled with light and shadow.

"This is the way to the afterlife?" asked Sora.

"Your version of the afterlife," said Death, "it's different for everyone."

"I'm scared," said Sora, "and I'm not ashamed to say it."

"I wouldn't worry if I were in your shoes," said Death, "after all the good you've done, no way you'll end up in perdition. No, an eternity of peace, joy and overall fun awaits you on the other side of that door," he pointed to the end of the hallway, where a single door stood.

Sora walked to the door and put a hand on the doorknob. He looked back at Death, whom gave an approving nod. Taking a bracing breath, Sora opened the door, and smiled at what he saw.

 **The End of Path of the Keyblade Wielder.**

 _Yes! Yes! At last, it's over! It's finally finished!_

 _I have to tell you, fellow readers and writers, this has been one epic journey, for our heroes and for myself. Of course, there'll be another Kingdom Hearts series from me, just as soon as I can think of what stories to write about. In the meantime, I've other writing projects to work on and hopefully, you'll enjoy reading them as much as I'll enjoy writing them, just as I hope you enjoyed reading this story. As always, keep reading and reviewing, the best is yet to come._

 _AndrewK9000_


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